Marooned Complete!
by Dixxy Mouri
Summary: Glenn and Leena have been marooned on Hermit's Hideaway. As they wait for rescue to come, Glenn is haunted by nightmares that are about to become a reality. Leena tries to help, only to find herself entangled in his dreams with no escape. Gleena. R&R!
1. Prologue

Marooned

By Dixxy

Prologue

The night of the marooning. . .

After getting Glenn to play a "running game" with them (which consisted of Starky swiping the Star Fragment again and then playing keep away with it), the occupants of the island soon found Glenn stopping infrequently to catch his breath, or, in some cases, yawn. Seeing that he really WAS tired, the little ones carried an unconscious Glenn into the tree house, dumped him on the hanging bench bed thing in the back of the house, and then left.

They then began to plot.

Poshul dug a hole close to where they had found Turnip and pulled out a box. Starky went over to the box and opened it, revealing several pieces of paper. All of the island's occupants gathered around. One of them was a poorly crayoned map of the island, another crayon masterpiece depicting a plan. The last piece of paper had several names on it, some crossed out:

**Nikki & Miki**

**Orcha**

**Orlha**

**Korcha**

**Greco**

**Skelly**

**Sneff**

**Grobyc**

**Glenn**

**Leena**

**Irenes**

**Funguy. . .**

. . . and the list went on. NeoFio crossed off Glenn's name from the baby-sitting schedule that Starky had snatched from Kid on her last visit from the island (that was a theft the alien had been quite proud of). The creatures had been using the list to prepare for who their next baby-sitter was, and, eventually, who they would leave on the island so they could get off the rock and go somewhere fun- maybe Fargo's cruise ship. Yes, Hermit's Hideaway was nice, but they needed a change.

"Who's next?" asked Pip.

"Leena," said Poshul. "Thould we reave Leena and Glenn here by themthelveth?"

"Leah want off-um island!" Leah protested.

"I think it would be a good idea," said NeoFio. All eyes turned to NeoFio. "Once, when Serge, Leena, and Kid came to the island, I saw Leena distancing herself from the other two and she looked really, really sad. I think Serge and Kid like each other and Leena was feeling left out."

The pink dog reflected on this. "In Home World, Leena and Sergeipoo were clothe. VERY CLOTHE," said Poshul. "You thould thee thith rock that Sergeipoo carved thomething into- it thaid 'Serge and Leena Forever'. Leena ith heartbroken becauthe Sergeipoo ith in rove with Kid."

NeoFio nodded. "And Glenn said he never had a love life, right?"

Pip blinked. "Awe you saying that we should leave Glenn and Leena hewe alone?"

NeoFio nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! They will fall in love and be happy, and we'll all get off the island! We just need to make sure no one from the party catches onto what we did for a few days so they can get to know each other better and then by the time Serge comes to rescue them they'll be practically engaged!"

"What if they don't like each otherrr?" asked Draggy.

"They will, they will!" said NeoFio. "They're gonna HAVE to like each other!"

After a brief conference over the pros and cons, the little traitors decided that the risk of Glenn and Leena killing each other was well worth a few days off the island. After shaking hands, paws, and leaves, they huddled closer together and began to prepare for Leena's arrival on the island. . .


	2. Chapter One

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter One

(Glenn)

I have no trouble admitting that I have a temper. Anyone who knows me well enough knows this, so what point is there to hiding it? My temper is just as much a part of me as my heritage and my physical appearance. So it was no surprise that when the small creatures on the island decided to maroon us, I lost it.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE TRAITORS! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HERE ON THIS ISLAND! IF SERGE DOESN'T KILL YOU I WILL! AND THAT'S A PROMISE!" I screamed. Unfortunately, they did not respond to me and continued to take the only exit from the island.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder, but I chose to ignore it. "Glenn! GLENN! Calm down!" The scream startled me and I turned to face the island's other occupant, Leena, who was giving me a very stern look. "Don't panic. Someone is bound to see the group of them and realize that we're still here on the island- we aren't stuck here forever, so just calm down, all right?"

Seeing she was right, I nodded. "Fine. But they will not getting away with this."

Leena looked out at the still fleeing boat. "I don't think they will, either. If we don't do them in, Serge will." The village girl looked behind her at the path leading to the island's main area. "I don't understand why they did this. They should know better! Even Draggy and he's just a baby!"

I sighed. Now that my temper was in check, I was beginning to calm down and reason through the situation. "Maybe they just wanted off the island for a few days," I suggested. "You are correct- while they should know better, I do not think they have a malicious intent for us, Leena."

"You're probably right," she said. "Now what?"

"Hmm?"

Leena laughed. "We're stick on an island for an indeterminable amount of time and all you can say is 'hmm'? We need to make the best of this situation and prepare ourselves to survive, for, at the longest, two weeks." My eyes widened at the proposition of being stranded on an island with a girl I didn't know very well. My father and my brother both would have killed me while Karsh would have teased me to no end. Though, under the circumstances, more than likely the others would be too busy reprimanding our charges to care too much about whatever we did or did not do.

"Well. . . I am not sure what you mean by 'now what'."

"What do we do?"

I shrugged, then looked up into the sky. "It is almost midnight," I said. "What is there to do at-"

"Before you say another word, AT EASE!" Leena said. "Glenn, I understand you were raised to be proper and polite and the such, but PLEASE- I'm not some high-class lady like Riddel or some other girl in the higher social class. You don't have to act so polite around me, really. It's driving me absolutely CRAZY!"

"It is?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes! It is!" said Leena. "Why don't you talk normal like Karsh or Serge?"

". . . talk normally? What do you mean?"

"Slur some words together. Say 'don't' instead of 'do not'. Say 'can't' instead of 'cannot'," Leena asked.

"What a strange request," I said.

"You're scaring me."

"Excuse me?"

Leena crossed her arms and began to walk around me. "How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Yet you sound more like you're sixty. Try and act your age," said Leena.

"But I am an adult, and I should be acting like one," I argued.

"But you're just BARELY an adult- bordering between being a teenager and an adult," said Leena. "You've seen Serge and Kid and Korcha and even me- we're all normal teenagers. We get in trouble with our parents, we do stuff just to have fun, and we enjoy our youth. How much of that did you have, Glenn? When did you grow up? What did you do as a kid, huh?"

"I have been training to be a Dragoon since I was about five or six," I said.

"And when you weren't training what were you doing? Who did you play with?" asked Leena.

I bit my lip. "Sometimes I played with my brother, Karsh, and Riddel- they were my friends growing up," I said. I shook my head. "Leena, why are you asking me all these questions? My childhood was just fine. I do not understand where all of this is coming from?"

"Riddel and the other two are all at least four years your senior. What about kids who were your age or younger, Glenn?" she asked. "You only need a few close friends, I'll give you that, but. . . your brother and Karsh were both seven years older than you. They must have been in the Dragoons by the time your were ten and Riddel probably went to some sort of a finishing school I'd imagine."

I looked down. "No. I had no other playmates if that is what you are asking. But that does not matter- where I stand now I am a somewhat decent swordsman and I am an Acacia Dragoon- that is what I have wanted to be ever since I was small. My father was one, Dario was one, and I am one."

"When you were a kid, didn't you ever do something just for the heck of it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever make a huge ice cream sundae bigger than your head and try to eat it all by yourself? Did you ever sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to go skinny dipping? Have you ever done anything just slightly out of line, just to see what it was like to be wild and free before?" she asked. I stared at her blankly. She shook her head. "Just like I suspected. You grew up too fast, Glenn."

"Who are you to pass that kind of judgment?" I said.

"Haven't you seen any of the teenagers and kids in our group? You saw that stupid fight that Korcha and Serge got into a few weeks ago, when Korcha jumped on Serge's back and wouldn't let go until Serge fell backwards into the ocean? And do you remember how Mel jumped in and started splashing them? And then even Van got into that fight and you know how that kid is sometimes. It's stuff like that little tiff that growing up is all about, and I'll bet that you never did anything like that, did you, Glenn? You've been trying so hard to live up to your father and your brother that you never took the time to explore your youth. And that's unfair, because I know that at the very least Dario had that kind of a childhood- I've heard about the antics he and Karsh got into. I don't hear any of that from you, Glenn."

I could not take it any more. "You have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "Where is there time for fun and games when you loose both of your parents suddenly in a matter of months when you're five years old, Leena? Where is the time for fun and games when you find yourself a prisoner in a foreign country just because of who you father is? Where's the time for fun when they're tormenting you, leaving you with both mental and physical scars?" I pointed at the old scar that adorned my cheek. "That's why I never played with anyone, Leena. Because of this. The other kids were scared of me. They didn't understand what happened. All they knew was that I was different from them. To them I was someone they could tease and make fun of, especially after my father died! I was by myself, even before Dario died! I tried to play by myself but I only found myself with trouble and a bad reputation! I didn't have any choice but to grow up!"

Leena stared at me with shock. "I, I didn't know-"

"Like hell you didn't!" I said. "No one ever does." I closed my eyes, feeling tears beginning to streak down my face. _Damn it, she's right. Why didn't I figure this out until know? I had no childhood! All I had was trauma and turmoil while everyone else around me was happy!_ I knew I was crying, something I had not done since my brother had died three years earlier. _I can't cry in front of Leena,_ part of my mind told me. With that I pushed her aside and ran as fast as I could.

* * *

I spent the next half hour feeling sorry for myself, sitting with my knees to my chest and my face buried in my arms on the opposite shore of the island. She was right. . . what was I? Because of what had happened to me fifteen years earlier, I did not have a normal childhood. No one would accept me as a friend because of my scar- it scared them. I had grown up believing that having fun would get me into trouble. That was no childhood.

I heard footsteps behind me. "Please, leave me alone, Leena," I asked. If anything, she did the exact opposite. I felt her sit next to me. I tried to hide further into my arms, trying to get away from her. Much to my surprise, I felt a head rest on my shoulder and a dainty hand reach over to touch my arm.

"It's all right, Glenn," she said. "I had no idea."

"But you're right," I said, sniffling. "I never had a chance to just be a kid."

"You're not the only one in the world who had to grow up so quickly, Glenn," said Leena. "There must be thousands of other people who had to cut their childhood short because of some sort of a trauma they experienced, too." I tried to look up, wiping away some of my tears. "When I was six, the Serge from our world died, but you know that by now. It was my mother and I who found his body washed up on the shore. I didn't understand that he wasn't going to wake up. I didn't understand it until his mother passed away and my mother and step-father began to forbid me and my siblings from venturing out so far from home. She wouldn't let me out of the house by myself for several YEARS, Glenn. To see the other Serge and alive and well and to know what could have been was heart wrenching."

"Seeing things they way they are in this world is strange," I said. "I was not there when Serge, while still in Lynx's body, ventured into the Dead Sea, but he told me about what he saw there." I looked up into the sky, my tears dried now. "He said that we were all frozen ghosts, every last one of us frozen in fear forever. I'm afraid to go there, now, even if the Dead Sea lies in ruins. Knowing I've been dead for three years here in this world is unsettling." I looked down. "I guess I understand where Serge is coming from, now."

"Well, my counterpart is still alive and well," said Leena. "That's creepy, too. To be talking to yourself like that is really weird. But I got a tech skill that was supposed to be for her!" Leena proudly showed me her MaidenFaith crystal element, smiling brightly. "Since she had no use for it, it's mine until this whole mess blows over."

I could not help but smile at her. Compared to me, Leena was. . . care free. Yes, she had helped Serge and was a more ferocious fighter than one might assume (ferocious, yes, effective, not so much), but she still had an almost childlike quality to her that I couldn't help but admire. She was one who would stop and smell the bellflowers, as Riddel put it.

"You know, it is getting pretty late," said Leena. She stood up, brushing her skirts off. "Now, what do we do for sleeping arrangements? I only recall that one bench bed in the tree house- please tell me there's a cot or a hammock lying around somewhere that I overlooked- isn't there?"

"Why do you- oh," I said, understanding. "There should be at the very least some extra blankets or something. I'm sure we'll be able to find something. At worst we'll just have to try and take some of the inhabitant's bedding and make do with that. If that is the case than you may take the bench bed."

"Are you sure, Glenn?" she asked.

"Wherever you decide to sleep is your choice, and it's only polite-"

"ER HERM?"  
"You can make me slur a few words together but if I can help it you will NOT be sleeping on the floor- I'm fine with sleeping on the hard surface. You think that being a Dragoon has made me soft? That's a joke! The privates' quarters are stocked with by far the most lumpiest, uncomfortable mattresses I have ever slept on in my entire life! I remember preferring sleeping outside," I said.

"Glenn?"

"Yes?"

"At ease before I FORCE YOU to be at ease. Understood?"

I grinned. "And just what would you do to me if I didn't?"

Leena grinned. "You don't want to know."

I laughed. "Of course, Leena! A Dragoon like myself would never fall to a-"

-suddenly, I found myself on the ground, Leena's foot on my chest and her saucepan raised above my head. "What was that you were saying, Mr. Big-Tough-Dragoon-Man? Were you implying that a sweet, innocent little girl like myself can't stand up to a macho Dragoon like you?"

"Fine. You win," I said. "Now please let me up." Leena released her foot and I sat up on my arms. Leena sat back down next to me, sending me a smug little grin. She giggled. I rolled my eyes. "I have to ask you a question, Leena. Where in El Nido did you learn to do whatever it was you just did?"

"Oh. Orlha and Marcy have been giving us ladies martial arts lessons," said Leena.

"Great, just what we need- killer women," I joked. "We're all doomed."

Leena fell on her back, clutching her stomach as she laughed. Even I managed to snicker a little at the joke, something I rarely did. _I could get used to this "at ease" thing,_ I thought to myself. "Oh no! Poor boys! You're all just going to have to submit to us women and our superior martial arts skills!" she said, rolling to her side. "Women will rule the world!"

"Yeah! You'll enslave us all with your brooms and frying pans!" I said.

"Riddel will take over Viper Manor and paint it pink!"

"Janice will become the new Sage of Marburle!"

"Steena will become leader of Guldove!"

"Um, Leena?"

"Yeah?"

"Steena already IS the leader of Guldove."

"Oh. I knew that."

I looked up at the sky, putting my hands behind my head as I sprawled out on the ground. I closed one eye as I directed the other at Leena. My companion turned to me, a questioning look on her face. "Yes, Glenn?" she responded. "What is it? Is something on your mind?"

"Yes," I said. "You girls really AREN'T planning some massive revolution, are you?"


	3. Chapter Two

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Two

(Leena)

Morning came, and I awoke. Unlike Serge, I was an early riser, even when I'd gone to bed at a late hour, like I had the previous night. Glenn made a guess that we didn't hit the hay until about one in the morning after hunting down an extra cot, blankets, and a pillow, then setting it up. Still, I figured I had gotten an all right amount of sleep, since I wasn't overly cranky and irritable.

I looked over at the hanging-bench thing Glenn had slept on to see the blanket neatly folded at the foot and the pillow placed delicately at the head. _Hmm. Maybe Glenn isn't such a late sleeper after all. Though, then again, I DID wake him up rather rudely at a late hour. My mistake._

I heard a thumping sound outside. Standing up, I stretched and stepped outside of the tree house, then looked over the porch railing to see my only companion for the next two weeks practicing on a wooden dummy. I frowned, feeling bad for Glenn. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea of being a baby-sitter while Serge and anyone else off baby-sitting duty was off adventuring around El Nido. From my travels with the Dragoon, I learned a few things about him. One of them was that he didn't like sitting still and being idle, especially if he knew something else was going on (one reason why he wanted to go to Fort Dragonia so badly with Serge).

The others involved skeletons (Skelly and Glenn were not the closest of friends), Viper Churros, and what his youth was like from the previous night's argument. I think that, while it probably hurt Glenn to have such a horrible past dug up again, but in a way, it did us good. We were in a stressful situation, so letting out all that angry energy probably did us some good.

Glenn paused in his training, then looked up me. He waved, using his other hand to wipe his forehead. The Dragoon had taken his armor off, the different pieces piled neatly by the garden. "Good morning, Leena. Did you sleep well?" he asked me. "I did not wake you, did I?"

"No, not all," I said, descending the ladder. "You?"  
"Considering I was a little wet," he said, giving me a smirk, "just fine."

"Aw, c'mon Glenn, I said I was sorry already! And I'm sorry about drilling you last night and for loosing the boat key and getting us marooned here and-" Glenn stepped up to me, placing a finger to my lips as he shook his head with a smile on his face. I was confused. "Huh?"

"It's all right, Leena. And I don't think you lost the key at all," said Glenn.

"I didn't?"

"Nope. Starky's a little pickpocket, you know. He took the Star Fragment from me three times now- I was able to retrieve it from him twice but he took off with it again last night, probably sometime after I fell asleep under the tree trunk and you woke me up in the tree house," said Glenn. "I'll bet the Einlanzers he was responsible for that."

I almost laughed. "I had no idea."

Glenn shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I won't be needing it while I'm stuck on this island."

"Don't look at is as 'stuck'. Think of it as. . . okay, okay, we're stuck here," I said.

"Well, we have a long. . . how long until the next sitter arrives?" asked Glenn, leaning the Einlanzers up against a tree. "Two, three days maybe? How long did Serge assign you to stay here to watch Poshul and the other little ones before whoever is next in line shows up?"

I laughed. "Um. . . two weeks?"

Glenn's expression paled. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. I. . . Serge knows I love to baby-sit and he let me stay here for two weeks," I said. Glenn sat down in one quick motion, a very, very stressful look on his face. "I don't think I'd have said that if I knew that they were planning on marooning us here, Glenn."

"Two weeks. . ." said Glenn.

"It won't be so bad, Glenn," I said. "Think of it as a vacation."

"Two weeks."

"The weather's nice, there's a good supply of food and fresh water so we don't go hungry or thirsty," I listed off. I looked over at Glenn to see his expression hadn't changed. I sat next to him, patting him on the back. "It's not forever. Just two weeks. We'll all look back on this and laugh one day."

Slowly, my companion nodded. "Did they KNOW it would be two weeks?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they were just getting a bad case of cabin fever and wanted to get off the island somehow, figuring that someone would be along in a few days. Or maybe they'll be back before then. Just try to relax a little, okay? Take a few whacks at the dummy if you need to."

Glenn nodded. "Okay. I'll be all right."

"Good boy!" I said, giving him a slightly harder pat on the back. I looked around. "So what are we going to do today?" I looked at Glenn for an answer. "Do you know anything about this island? This is pretty much like the other world's island only not burned down, right?"

"Well. . . there's a swimming hole. Radius took Dario and I here sometimes as children after our father died and we'd spend our days there, but there's no telling what condition it's in now," said Glenn. He shrugged. "I don't know what's here, really, aside from training equipment." My comrade jerked his thumb at the dummy.

"Swimming hole?" I said.

Glenn nodded. "Mmm hmm. Dario and I would take turns climbing up this big tree with a thick limb over the pond to jump off into the water. Sometimes Radius jumped in after training to cool off and the three of us would have a big water fight." He paused, smiling. "He's really like a second father to me."

"I got that impression," I responded. I looked down at the ground. "Pardon my asking, but. . . could you tell me about what happened when you received your scar? If you don't want to talk about it that's fine but. . . it was on my mind last night, that's all." I looked up at Glenn.

"It's no bother. I told the little ones the story yesterday. Kept them quiet for a while," he said, laughing. Glenn then told me the story of his scar, which I learned was a somewhat permanent reminder of a horrible ordeal he'd gone through at the tender age of five, which explained a lot about his childhood. To be an orphan at five was mind numbing to me. I couldn't imagine loosing both of my parents. As it was I could barely remember my father, whose fate Serge had told me about after he regained his body.

"My mother had died a few months before I received my scar. It was rather sudden and we were all still grieving over that loss, even if it wasn't as bad as it had been. For me to receive this mark and my father's passing. . . I don't think Dario or I knew what to do with ourselves. Karsh wouldn't talk to us for the longest time it seemed until Riddel was able to corner him. He felt guilty because now he was the only one in our little group that still had both of his parents and he couldn't bear to look at the rest of us. Riddel's mother died while birthing her and I just told you about my own parents, yet Zappa and Zippa are both alive in both worlds. I don't know if he ever fully got over that, to tell you the truth," said Glenn. "He was always bringing Dario and I over to his house, begging his mother to let us spend many, many nights at his house, trying to give us a family life."

I sat with my elbow on my knee and my chin in my hand, shaking my head. "I'm amazed at you, Glenn," I said. "To live through all that and be as strong of a person as you are now." The Dragoon looked up at me in surprise, blinking in confusion at me. "What? What did I say?"

"You think I'm strong?"

"Yes, I do," I said. "You're wielding two Einlanzers, you're doing something with your life instead of working in some dead end job so you can feel sorry for yourself and you've fully dedicated yourself to this whole inter-dimensional crisis. You've faced some pretty darn scary monsters without so much as flinching, including the skeletons on Fargo's ship and we all know how you feel about that. That's pretty strong if you ask me."

Glenn blushed. "You really think so?"

I nodded. "Yes. I do," I said.

"All right, enough about me. Tell me about yourself, Leena," said Glenn, turning to me with interest.

"Me? There's nothing TO know. I'm sixteen, I live in Arni, and I spend most of my time baby-sitting for my many, many half siblings. The most excitement I've ever had is meeting up with the Serge of this world and helping him along with this quest. I've really led a pretty boring life," I said.

"So you either hate this or love this," said Glenn.

"I love it," I said, grinning. "Ever since I was a little girl, the other Serge and I would act out all these adventures, talking about how one day we'd explore all of El Nido together. We had names for all of the houses in our village. The Chief's hut, for instance, was the Desert Wasteland. A lot of the adults knew about it and played along with us, pretending to be monsters or merchants who traded candy for sea shells." I smiled. "Ah, those were the days."

"Dario and Karsh were always acting out mock fights no matter where they were, whether it be the conjoined yard that my house shares with the Smithy or even Viper Manor. They'd take turns being the bad guy who was holding 'Princess' Riddel hostage. After I got a little older they let me play along, too," said Glenn. "Most of the time I was the good guy's trusty dragon- I was always making stupid growling noises at whoever the bad guy was, pretending to breath fire or something. I think I gave Dario a head-butt once, which Riddel thought was a riot. Instead of giving her thanks to Karsh, who was the good guy that time, she gave me a hug and proclaimed me as the hero."

I laughed. "Poor Karsh."

"Nah, he thought it was great, too. He gave this big melodramatic speech about how his 'trusty steed' had betrayed him and he pretended to commit suicide complete with this long, overly elaborate death." Glenn got to his feet, staggering as he held his throat before falling over onto the ground, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. I fell off my seat from laughing so hard.

"Like that?" I asked.

"Like that," he said, sitting up. "I walked in on one of his training sessions once and he did the exact same thing, explaining that was what he wanted his troops to make the enemy do. Then the General walked in and gave him this stern look and gave him his head, right infront of his trainees. I felt so bad for him. . . right after I was done laughing, of course."

I rolled my eyes. "So, where's this swimming hole?"

Glenn stood up, extending a hand to help me up. I took it. "Follow me."

* * *

"Wow."

Glenn looked around, nodding. "It's still in pretty good shape," he said. "I thought it was going to be overgrown with vines and algae by now, but the water's still pretty clean." The swimming hole was a relatively small pond located a few minutes away from the tree house, surrounded by tall trees on all sides. The branch that Glenn had told me about still hung high above the water, waiting for someone to jump off it again. I walked over to water and put my hand in it. It was a nice temperature- not too cold, but just cool enough to find yourself refreshed after a long, hot day.

My friend had a blissful smile on his face. "This place brings back many happy memories," he said. "Some of the only happy memories from my childhood." He, too, stepped up to the water and knelt down, his hands on his knees and he gazed into the water. "I must've been ten the last time I looked into the water. I look so. . . different."

"You're older, that's why," I said.

"Well, I know that," Glenn said. "Some things didn't change, but some things did."

I looked into the water myself, smiling at my reflection. I picked up a pebble and dropped it into the water, giggling as my reflection became distorted by the water. Glenn looked over at me, puzzled. "Try it," I said. "See what happens when you put something on your reflection."

Glenn shrugged, picked up a rock, and dropped it in. "Weird," he mused.

"I used to do this all the time as a kid. Serge used to think something was wrong with me," I said.

"Ah, he was a boy and you were a girl, right? There was a time when I thought something was wrong with every single girl in El Nido except for Riddel," he said. "It's just a part of growing up, that's all. Wasn't there a time you thought there was something wrong with the other boys in Arni?"

"There IS something wrong with them," I insisted. "Their idea of fun is taking turns seeing who can let out the loudest belch or the smelliest. . . other, gas. When they decided who the winner is they parade him around town, declaring him the King of Bodily Functions."

Glenn gave me a strange look. "You're right, something IS wrong with them."

I laughed. "Yeah! I asked Serge about it and he gave me this strange look in response to that before asking is I was okay," I said. "Maybe in the other world he's the one that keeps them all in line and without Serge they matured into the disgusting pigs they are today."

"That could be an explanation for it," Glenn said dryly.

"Yeah," I said, frowning. "I hate to think that one day I might be married to one of them."

"Why do you say that?"

I sighed. "I'm probably going to live in Arni my whole life, marry an Arni fisherman, and die in Arni. Why? Because it's expected of a 'sweet little girl' like myself to stay in the town of my birth." I stuck my tongue out. "I can't do that NOW. I know what the world is like! There's no way I'm staying in Arni!"

"Move to Termina," said Glenn. "Your friend Lisa lives there, right? So it wouldn't be like you'd be in a big, scary city by yourself. And Termina is more exciting than Arni- there's always something buzzing around town and Viper Manor. And you're right there for the Viper Festival, too."

"Yeah. . ." I said. "I think I might have to do that, now. Thanks for the idea!"

Glenn grinned. "Not a problem." He looked at me, grinned, and put one hand in the water. I looked at him, then realized what he was planning by the slightly evil glint in his eye. I shrieked as he flicked his wrist, splashing me. He laughed before I splashed him back. He blinked in surprise. "Oh? So that's how you play the game, huh?"

"You started it."

"And I'll finish it, too!"


	4. Chapter Three

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Three

(Glenn)

Needless to say I lost the water fight against my Blue innate friend. Leena barely got a few flecks of water on herself, but I, on the other hand, was completely drenched (though I suppose I asked for it when I opened my mouth and dared her to push me in). I can't seem to stay dry around that girl.

The second night of our marooning began rather quietly. After lighting a campfire, we dug into some of the rations left on the island and enjoyed the stars, not saying too much to each other. Eventually, though, Leena started a "game" of sorts where we tried to decide what some of the stars looked like if you were to connect them, similar to cloud watching. She found a bunny, a sailboat, and a horse. I found a fish, a cat, and, I do not lie, the spitting image of Poshul. Leena thought that was the funniest thing she had heard and wouldn't stop laughing for a few minutes. Then we turned in for the night and went to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later while it was still very dark. After taking a look at the moons, I guessed it was just after midnight. Seeing as I wasn't tired and really didn't want to go back to sleep all that badly, I decided that going out for a walk wouldn't hurt. Being careful not to disturb Leena, I quietly left the tree house and went down the ladder.

Now that I was down on the ground, I headed into the woods, heading towards the old swimming hold by pure habit. I had paid a visit to the spot once while I had still been baby-sitting, just taking a break from my job to have a few hours of peace and quiet. Had I only told them stories right from the start, then maybe I would not have needed the break so badly.

The night air was surprisingly warm and humid, and I was very glad I had decided to remove my armor. Now that my tunic wasn't bunched up under my breastplate, it was much looser, and, therefore, much cooler and much more comfortable. I hadn't felt that relaxed in a very long time, and I relished in the feeling. After spending the past few years under the intense training as an Acacia Dragoon and the added stress of the quest and Porre invading Termina, this was a much, much welcome break.

The familiar path brought back dozens of memories from my childhood. Happy memories. Memories of Dario telling me that he had feelings for Riddel, which at the time I couldn't understand. Memories of how he'd sneak up on me in the water and splash me or dunk my head, sending my thin limbs into a splashing frenzy. Memories of how once I got older I dumped a bucket of water on his head was he was sunning. I put my hands on the back of my head, weaving my fingers together as I sauntered down the path with what must have been a stupid grin adorning my face.

I came to the edge of the swimming hole. The surface was completely still, much like a mirror as the two moons were reflected in the water. I sat down on a fallen log, just looking out at the water for a few minutes. It was so peaceful there, as if the place itself had feelings. This place knew no pain or suffering, knew nothing of responsibility. Yes. This was a place of many happy memories from a time when I didn't have many cares in the world, or, when I did, they all seemed to wash away in the water.

I stood, looking forlornly at the water. The swimming hole seemed to almost beckon me into its cool depths, the wind whispering words of encouragement. I thought back to what Leena had said the previous night, and how I never did anything out of line or even the slightest bit spontaneous. _Well. . . if I were to go swimming at this hour, that would be a little spontaneous, wouldn't it?_ I thought to myself.

Despite the fact that I saw no one, I went behind a tree to undress. Leaving my clothing in a neat pile at the base of the tree, I stepped out, seeing a few ripples in the distance. A slight breeze told me where they probably came from. Shrugging off any nerves I might have had, I ran into the water and dove in.

My mind relaxed and my body cooled as I found myself completed submerged. I felt my hair float loosely around my head as my body slowly sunk deeper into the water. Before I went too deep and my lungs began to burn, I moved my body and began to kick my way to the surface.

I gasped as my head broke the surface. The water felt incredible. I shook my head and dove back under, relishing in the feeling once more. Despite the fact water was not a property of my innate color, I loved it as much as any Blue person did. Maybe because it was a symbol of the only happiness I was able to find in my childhood. I really didn't know any other Blue innate people aside from Zippa and Marcy before the whole mess with Serge happened.

After taking another breath and diving down again, I opened my eyes and saw something else moving in the water. _What in the name of the Ancient Dragonians is THAT?_ I thought to myself. Dario and I had never seen anything in the water before, so what was that? Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to swim closer.

Whatever it was must have seen my as well, it too swimming closer to me. Could something have moved in during the many years since I had been there, or, considering this was an alternate reality, was this thing ALWAYS in the water? _I REALLY hope this thing isn't a monster, because if it is I'm a sitting duck!_

My lungs demanded water, so I broke for the surface. As my head emerged from the water, I heard a splashing sound a few feet away from me. Looking over, I saw what had been in the water with me, and I realized that this was much worse than any sea monster or pond demon.

Leena and I let out a collective scream as we began to swim for opposite shores.

_THAT WAS LEENA?_ My mind was swimming as much as my body was. Leena had decided to go swimming as well, apparently, and, from the fact that she'd screamed as well, she was wearing just as much as I was. I was silently thanking the darkness of the night- at least we hadn't seen very MUCH of each other.

Once I was back on the shore I ran behind the tree, shivering from the sudden chill I'd received. I grabbed my tunic and dried myself as much as I could, then pulled my pants and boots on. I mentally winced. Great. Just great. Leena was never going to speak to me again, and considering that she would be the only person I'd have contact with for a long time, that was going to be very, very bad.

I slid down to the ground, wondering what I was going to do. I was dead. Simple as that. She was going to kill me. While I hadn't really seen anything aside from bare shoulders, I had, technically, seen her naked. Leena was going to murder me and when Serge or whoever came to the island they'd find my rotting corpse.

"Glenn!"

I jumped, yelping in surprise. I turned my head to see Leena standing by the tree. While she was still very wet, she had dressed as well. Flicking wet hair behind her back, she shook her head. "Are you all right?" she asked me. She leaned her head to one side, laughing. "Guess we gave each other quite a scare, huh?"

I blinked. "You're not mad at me? But Leena, I saw you naked!"

"You didn't see anything, did you?" asked Leena, eyeing me suspiciously.

"No! The water and the night, but. . . Radius is going to skin me alive!" I said.

"Oh, no he won't," she said. "I didn't realize you'd gone out and I don't think you realized I went out- it happens. And remember, I saw YOU naked, Glenn." I blushed, then, realizing I hadn't put my shirt back on yet, I fumbled to pull it over my head. Leena laughed as I found myself even more tangled in the shirt.

Once I was back in my shirt, I cleared my throat. "You're not embarrassed?"

Leena shrugged. "Not really. Why are you so uptight about it?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Leena," I said. I sighed. "I saw you naked and all you can say is 'it happens'? Aren't you a LITTLE embarrassed?" I could feel my cheeks begin to flush. "It's just that. . . well. . . Riddel left her bedroom door open while she was changing and Karsh and I- and then she started screaming- and Dario looked ready to kill us both- and I thought she'd never speak to us again-"

My friend walked up to me and gave me a kiss on the scared cheek. I blinked, unsure what to think. "Relax, Glenn. I think I know what's going on in that confused little head of yours." She reached up to ruffle my hair a little as I blinked at her, wondering what she was getting at.

"You don't think I'm. . . confused. . . do you?"

"Confused? Of course you are!" said Leena.

I blinked. "Strange. I don't feel. . . homosexual. . ."

"NO!" said Leena as she laughed out loud from my comment before leaning against the tree. "Not THAT kind of confusion, silly!" She cleared her throat. "You're just confused about a lot of what's been goin on and every little thing that happens has you jumping out of your skin. First you decide to see what's going on with General Viper and the Dragoons, so you go with Serge. Next thing you know he hands you an Einlanzer from another world, and you find yourself with two Einlanzers after the second one responded to you. You also have two. . . um. . . enthusiastic. . . summons. . . on hand. This mess is getting bigger by the minute and you're starting to panic. It's changing all of lives one way or another, and for you it's a really BIG change because you're not just 'Dario's little brother' or 'Garai's younger son' anymore. You're stepping out of that shadow, and now that you're out of it you don't know what to do. Relax, Glenn."

"You. . . you think so?"

Leena nodded. "Don't worry, Glenn. I'll make sure you turn out okay. You just need to take a few big, deep breaths and clear your head. It's okay." I scratched my head, wondering if that was something I wanted. I shook my head as the two of us headed back to the tree house.

* * *

The following morning, the two of us sat in silence over breakfast. I distanced myself from Leena, trying to comprehend how she'd taken the previous night so. . . lightly. And her of all people! Leena's tech skills depended on her innocence, and even though I don't think I gave her any reason for her to think I'd try and take advantage of her (which I never would do), I couldn't figure out WHY she hadn't flipped out.

Leena didn't bother me for a while, giving me a chance to think. She went back into the tree house and didn't come out for a while, which was fine with me. I needed time to think. Ever since we'd been marooned, Leena had made a number of good points that I needed to ponder over.

After a while, I picked up one of the Einlanzers and began to slowly go through an old routine that Dario had taught me when I was first learning to use a sword. It always helped me clear my mind whenever I wanted to think something through. It had an eerie way of calming me, and was something I did often because of that.

Was Leena right? Was my life changing because of the dimensional crisis we were all involved in? Not since I was a child had the General called me by my name, and even Marcy and Zoah were paying attention to me. But what had caused that change? Sure I'd fought on a ghost ship and gotten through Fort Dragonia, but, what was it?

Well, I had seen fault with Lynx when the General and the Devas and most of the other Dragoons didn't. Riddel and I had been the only ones to see something wrong with the alliance. And instead of sitting on my hands when the General and most of the other Dragoons left, I decided that I'd risk my place in the Dragoons, maybe even my life, to follow them to Fort Dragonia. It was pure luck I met up with Serge and his group, yet now I was beginning to see that maybe this was something I needed to be involved with.

Though I suppose it might have started when Riddel and I went to the shrines to pay our respects to my brother and my father. I had come back without a bellflower, yet Serge had one and gave it to me for free. I thanked him, and sent a thankful smile to Kid and Leena, who were with him at the time. The Radical Dreamer had given me a gutsy wink and a thumbs up while Leena had shyly waved.

Come to think of it, Leena was changing, too. She HAD been awful bashful when Serge gave me the flower, hiding behind Kid. When I had joined her and Serge, she had been just a little more open, but was still very shy. By the time Serge had gotten his body back, she was much more out going. Maybe she was only shy around those that she didn't know, and now that she knew the rest of us she was opening up a little more.

I looked up at the tree house. Leena was being awfully quiet that morning. I was now used to the much more talkative and perhaps a bit "spunky" village girl who had grown so much since I first laid eyes on her. But her quietness bothered me- she hadn't been that bashful when I met Serge.

I dropped the Einlanzer. Maybe it was my fault. I had been a little cool to her that morning. _What was the first thing Dario told you about being a Dragoon, Glenn, aside from not overeating Viper Churros? Yes, that's right- never disrespect or disregard a lady. And what did you just do?_ I sighed to myself. I owed Leena an apology.

I swiftly climbed up the ladder and stepped inside the tree house. Leena was relaxing against the high limb inside of the small building, her eyes droop lazily. I climbed up and sat by her, catching her attention, though just slightly. I let my legs dangle over the side. "Hello," I said.

"What is it, Glenn?" she asked sleepily.

"I just wanted to apologize for this morning," I said. "I was a little cold to you."

Leena shrugged, almost as if she didn't care. She put the back of her hand to her nose and sniffled. "All right."

"That's it?" I said. _Was she upset about something._

"You just needed time alone, that's all. Sometimes I need time alone, too," she said groggily. "It's not a problem at all. But if apologizing floats your boat, be my guest." She yawned, sitting up as she dangled her feet over the other side. "I think I need to get some more sleep. I'm not feeling so hot right now."

I took a closer look at Leena. She did look a little paler than usual, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Come to think of it, that sniffle I had been worried about wasn't a crying sniffle. More of a congested sniffle. I looked at her, narrowing my eyes. "Leena, how long have you been feeling this way?" I asked. Leena blinked at me, closing her eyes as she tried to come up with an answer. I put the back on my hand to her forehead and clucked my tongue. "You're burning up."

"What?"

"I think you're coming down with something," I said. I bit my lip. "I hope it's just a cold from last night's swim, because if not, and you have something serious, we're in trouble." Leena looked at me with worried eyes. "Come on, let's get you down from here, all right?"

"I don't wanna move."

"All right then," I said. "Pardon my hands." I slipped one of my arms under her knees, taking her by surprise. Putting the other across her back, I pulled her into my lap and pushed myself off the limb. Leena looked up at me in surprise. Gently, I laid her down on her cot, double checking her temperature. Still burning up. _Please don't be really sick, Leena. . ._

After draping a blanket over her, I knelt down by her slightly ill form and gently brushed my hand against her cheek. "Try to rest up, all right?" Leena nodded weakly before pulling the blankets around her. Giving her one last pat on the cheek, I left the tree house to give her a chance to rest up.


	5. Chapter Four

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Four

(Leena)

There are many things I'm all right with. I was all right with baby-sitting my siblings when I could very easily be taking pleasure trips to Termina to see Lisa or goofing off on Opassa Beach. I was all right with going on the adventure with Serge. I was all right with traveling across dimensions. I was even all right with being stuck on an island with Glenn.

Being sick, however, was not one of the things I was all right with.

Needless to say I felt pretty miserable. It was the disgusting feeling you have whenever you just don't feel good. I'd started to feel it shortly after breakfast. I don't know how I managed to climb up the tree in my state, but I remember feeling just as miserable there as I had on the ground. I can't say how relieved I was that Glenn had the strength to carry me back down. That branch wouldn't have been the best place to rest up and get better.

As luck would have it, there wasn't a Panacea or Medicine on Hermit's Hideaway, and Starky had presumably stolen our only defense against the Flu when he took off with the Star Fragment. Serge had left several Braces, a few Ointments and a TON of Antidotes, but nothing that would cure my condition- with the weather we had in El Nido and no Blue creatures there, he didn't see a need to leave them, I suppose. I wanted to laugh at my dumb luck. Had I fallen out of the stupid tree and broken a limb I would've been fine with a few Braces. Had one of Glenn's campfires gone out of control we would've been fine. Had I decided to eat something I shouldn't have eaten I would have been fine. But no. I had to come down with the one condition we had no cure for.

But it's not like I wasn't totally uncompensated.

Glenn had carried me outside and left me in a pile of blankets and pillows so he could keep an eye on me and get to my quickly if I needed or wanted something, telling me that whatever I needed he'd get me. I really didn't think he needed to go that far, but I think the fact I was sick at all had scared Glenn out of his wits. Poor guy.

Around noon (Glenn had been teaching me to tell time by the position of the sun and the moons), my throat was starting to get a little scratchy. Glenn was sitting at the base of the tree, dozing off. I looked over at him, opening my mouth to speak. _No, Leena- look at him. He's asleep. Don't bother him right now. Go get a drink yourself- it's just the flu. You're not helpless, you know._

I started to move, but before I could get a hand on the ground to brace myself I heard movement and before I knew what was happening Glenn was by my side, shaking his head. "Oh no you don't," he said. He pointed at the ground. "Sit." I obeyed. "Good. Now, what did you want?"

I looked up at him. "Could you get me some water?"

"Sure," he said. In a flash he was already on his way up into the tree house, and soon disappeared inside. I giggled, happy that he was willing to wait on me hand and foot until I got better. I sighed contentedly, curling up in my massive pile of blankets. If he wasn't careful, I might get used to the treatment.

Before I knew it, Glenn was at my side again, a glass of water in hand. "Here you go," he said. He carefully sat himself down, curling his knees to his chest as he rested his head on the perch he'd created. "It is cold enough, isn't it? If it isn't I don't mind going back to get you a colder glass-"

I took a sip, nodding. "It's fine, don't worry about it," I said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied. "Feeling any better?"

"Well, the fresh air is certainly nice," I said.

Glenn took one of my pillows, absently pulling at it to make it fluffier. "You sure I can't do anything else for you?" he asked, putting the pillow back and taking another. He began to fluff that one, giving me a smile in the process. "Just relax and try to get better, okay Leena?"

"Glenn. It's a flu. I'm not dying on you," I said plainly.

My friend pouted. "You've got me worried, Leena."

"Why? Blue is my innate color- I'd be in worse shape if I had a burn," I said.

"But this isn't some flu you got from battling a monster with an Ice Blast like those nasty things in the Viper Manor sewers," he said. "You got this because you didn't dry yourself off good enough last night and you know it. Blue innate or no blue innate, you need to dry off after you go swimming, especially before putting your clothes back on. If they get wet then it's even worse."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mommy."

Glenn glared at me. "I'm serious, Leena."

I nodded, getting an idea. "Ooo. . . my head hurts. . . can you get me something?"

Lecture forgotten, Glenn was on his feet and on his was up the tree house, and for that matter, out of my hair. "I think there's something for headaches up here! I'll be down in a second! Just don't try to get up or make yourself dizzy! And don't think too hard! You could hurt yourself!"

He was back down again with a cup of something. "Here, drink this," he said.

I looked at it, eyeing it curiously. "What is it?"

"Tea," he replied simply. "Made from some of the flowers here. Kills headaches."

I nodded, drinking it down. I stopped as I began to swallow the horrible liquid. It was almost like gelatinous sea water. I made a face as it went down my throat. I gagged, holding my throat as I started to cough. Glenn was on me in an instant, one hand on my back as he worried looked at me. "Leena! Are you all right?" he asked.

"That tasted awful!" I said.

Glenn laughed lightly, his cheeks turning red as he scratched the back of his head. "Oops. Guess I shoulda warned you about that, huh?" Now it was my turn to shoot him a dirty look. Glenn's laughter ceased as he made an unusual sound in the back of his throat and looked at the ground.

_Leena! He's only trying to help! _I scolded myself. I turned to Glenn, grabbing one of his hands. "I'm sorry," I said. "I've been really mean to you and you're only trying to help me." The knight in question looked up, blinking. I gave him my best pout face. "I know you had your heart in the right place."

"It's okay, you're sick and you're cranky," he said. "Maybe you should take a nap."

I shook my head. "Uh-uh! I was done with naps when I was five!" I said.

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. SURE." He reached under the blanket pile and lifted me up. He looked at me, then at the tree house, and then frowned. "Now, as soon as I figure out how to climb the ladder with my arms as full as they, you're going to have a nice, long nap."

"Oh goody."

I woke up in the middle of the night. I groaned, not happy that I'd been woken up. Hey, who's happy when they're woken up, anyways? I rubbed my eyes, sitting up, As my eyes slowly adjusted, I nearly panicked. Where was I! This wasn't my room! This wasn't even in Arni! _AH! WHERE AM I? I'M NOT HOME! WAH!_ I opened my mouth, preparing to scream.

Then, I remembered where I was and closed my mouth. I blew up at my bangs, feeling like an idiot. Had I screamed I probably would have taken about four years off of Glenn's life expectancy from the heart attack I would've given him. _You're on Hermit's Hideaway, Leena, calm down. You're sick enough as it is,_ I though to myself. _Now go to sleep._

Laying back down, I pulled the blanket around my cold body. Now that it was night, the temperature had gone down considerably. I shivered, my teeth chattering. _Damned flu. How am I supposed to sleep like this?_ I sat up again, looking around to try and figure out how I was going to warm myself.

"Leena?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Glenn! Don't scare me like that!"

A yawn. "My sincerest apologies. Are you all right?"

I paused. "No," I answered.

I heard movement on coming from his half of the tree house and soon heard the sound of bare feet padding over to my cot. I turned to look at him as he knelt down by my bedside. "What's wrong?" he asked me, putting his hand to my forehead. He pulled his hand away. "Well, good news if your fever broke. Bad news is that your skin is just about ice cold."

"Tell me something I don't know," I said miserably, shivering. "It's so cold."  
"That's because you're sick- if it isn't too hot then it's definitely too cold."

I whimpered. "I don't wanna be sick."

Glenn pulled me closer into a hug, patting my back. "No one does, Leena."

"I hate being sick."

"I do, too."

We sat in silence for several minutes, Glenn holding me as I relaxed. He was warm. Very warm. Warmer than my blanket and I were at any rate. I liked it. I pulled myself closer, sighing happily. "Warmth. . ." I said after the long pause, pulling my blanket around my shoulders. "Nice and warm."

Glenn patted my back before moving to stand. I whimpered, holding him tighter. _No! Warm! Don't go away! _"Leena?" he asked. "Is something still wrong? I understand that you're sick and your cold but what can I- oh no, Leena. There are some thing I WILL do but I just can't-"

"You're warm. Stay with me? Please? Just this once?" I asked. "Cherry on top?"

"But. . . you're a girl."

"And you have body heat that will make me warmer!"

Glenn shook his head vigorously, his eyes widening in slight panic. "But it isn't moral! We're not married or anything at all! We're just friends. We were trained in the Dragoons that yes it's all right to sleep with a fellow Dragoon for warmth purposes, but you're a girl!"

I shivered. "Glenn, I'm not asking you to get intimate with me, I just want your body heat. I'm freezing right now and this blanket isn't doing me much good." I looked at him with pleading eyes, holding him tighter. "I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for warmth. Trust me, Glenn. All I want you to do is just keep yourself close to me so I get warmer and I don't come down with pneumonia or yellow fever or-"

Glenn sighed. "All right. But you have to let me get up for one second, all right?" I nodded as he stood, hating I was suddenly cold again. I watched as he padded over to his area of the tree house, grabbing his blanket. He laid it on the floor after grabbing his pillow. I clumsily stood, dizzily making my way to the floor with my blanket and pillow in tow. I sat down, albeit a bit nervously, and slowly laid myself down. Glenn followed, pulling me into his arms and then draping my blanket over us.

I took a few minutes to get used to the sensation of going from being cold to being warm. Yes. This felt nice. Not as soft as my cot, but it was, in a way, much more comfortable. The tree house wasn't so cold anymore. I shifted slightly, letting Glenn's body heat warm me up. My shivering subsided as I relaxed into the embrace. _This feels so much better,_ I thought happily.

"Better?" he asked.

I looked up at him, nodding slowly. "Much," I said. "Thank you."

Glenn nodded at me before resting his head against the other pillow, a gentle grin on his face. He placed his hand against my forehead one last time before taking a more relaxed position. "Good night, Leena. Sleep tight and feel better in the morning," he said. He closed his eyes and was soon softly breathing, sign that my friend was fast asleep.

I couldn't help but watch him.

When he was awake, Glenn was quite possibly one of the most honorable people I know. Well, he was a knight with the blood of two of the most highly regarded Devas running through his veins, so I guess something must have rubbed off on him. And the way he held a sword and used it was more like a dance rather than a method of fighting. Sometimes I found myself mesmerized as I watched him in battle and didn't move until either a monster yelled at me or Serge yelled at me to stop staring off into space.

But as he slept, he looked so different. A calm, content look was on his face as he lay dead to the world. In a way, he almost had a very childlike look on his face despite the scar adorning his cheek. So ironic that he looked so youthful and innocent, even when I knew that he was far from that.

I frowned. _He's been through so much,_ I thought to myself. After I'd asked him about his childhood, I couldn't help but feel bad for him. To be put through some much at such a young age. To loose his mother, go through that trauma of being kidnapped and then tortured, and THEN to loose his father? To find himself lost in the darkness of the shadows that his father and brother cast apon him, and to loose his brother prematurely as well? To add insult to injury, there were times that Glenn convinced himself that he was weak because he wasn't the great Dragoon that his brother or his father was.

_Bless Serge's heart_, I thought. Glenn had been a slightly insecure knight when we'd first been presented the idea of him joining us. He'd been almost overly polite, saying that he'd try as hard as he could to help Serge on his quest once we told him the entire bizarre tale. It only took a few swings at Harle followed by his Dash and Gash skill for Serge and I to be beyond impressed. Poor guy was confused with the looks we gave him and nearly fainted dead away when Serge asked where he'd gotten the idea he was weak from. In my eyes and the eyes of everyone involved in the quest, including the General, the Devas, and Riddel, he was anything but the weakling he'd convinced himself he was.

_You are strong, Glenn,_ I thought as I looked at him. _Stronger than you realize._

Without thinking, I leaned in to kiss his nose.

I pulled away, blinking in confusion. _What did you just do, Leena?_ I asked myself. I watched Glenn, waiting for him to wake up. Instead, he mumbled something incoherent and yawned, pulling me just a little closer. I nearly panicked. _Ack! You kissed him you stupid fool! You kissed him! Nice going, Leena, now what are you going to do?_

I bit my lip, trying to calm down. _Okay, okay, you're feeling under the weather are you aren't thinking clearly. THAT'S why you just did that. He didn't wake up, he'll never know about it, and it'll all be over come tomorrow morning. If you never tell him, he'll never know and there will be no complications from it. So forget about it already!_

Somehow, it didn't seem that simple.


	6. Chapter Five

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Five

(Glenn)

AN: Some of the ideas for this chapter are attributed to Lena Ban Obsidian.

Two days later, Leena was back to her normal self. No fever, no coughing, no flu. Just Leena. Which was good, because I was worried that my care wasn't helping. Leena reassured me that I had done just fine and that she wouldn't have recovered as quickly as she did without my help.

The day after I'd kept her warm, she had kept her distance from me, not asking for much and requesting I leave her alone for the day. It had been a bit of a. . . well. . . embarrassing situation, I guess, but yet she was the one who'd given me the reasons why it wasn't immoral or bad or even the slightest bit of an issue. So why was she acting so strangely all of a sudden?

It really hadn't bothered me that much. In a way, it was relaxing and I fell asleep quickly. Having Leena in my arms was reminiscent of the first peaceful years of my life when my family was still a whole unit. I'd had a teddy bear that I had insisted on sleeping with every night. I'd named him Arthur and, before swords interested me, took the bear everywhere. That old bear was practically falling apart now (one eye was gone and his ear was ready to fall off), but I still had Arthur tucked away in my closet back in my cabin, just as a reminder of a childhood that wasn't plagued by tears and trauma.

Strangely, I did have an unusual dream about a giant feather duster tickling my nose, but aside from that it was a rather peaceful sleep, which I found almost foreign. If I wasn't watching my mother collapse that fateful day again, I was almost certainly back in that scary room with Curtis, the pocket knife glinting as it quickly slashed downward. It scares me to know that events that I should have put behind me long ago continue to haunt me. Even to this day as I sometimes wake up from a particularly disturbing dream, quietly rocking myself to sleep and trying to tell myself it would all be okay. But somehow that never worked. I wanted someone else to tell me it was all right. First at had been my mother, then my father, and then Dario. And they left me alone in that order.

For the first time in a long time, even after finding myself surrounded by Serge and the others, I hadn't felt like I was alone. I hadn't felt totally calm and relaxed. Yet somehow, just lying there, trying to warm Leena up was almost like heaven. The feel of another human being so close was like drinking a cup full of water after wandering through a desert or seeing the light after being lost in the dark.

The day AFTER that, she started talking to me again, which was a relief. I had been worried I did something to upset her, but after she laughed and called me "silly", I realized it wasn't something I did. I was still curious as to WHY she was acting strangely, which I, at the time, brushed off as just a side effect of the flu or embarrassment.

Now that she was better, she was beginning to see a slight problem on the island.

"Didn't Serge leave something BESIDES dried jerky?" asked Leena.

I frowned, looking through the food supplies. "It doesn't appear that way."

"Aw," she pouted. She sighed, looking around. "There's gotta be something else to eat here." Leena stood up, flitting around the food supplies to find something else, and fell to the ground when she found nothing, whimpering slightly. "We can't survive on jerky for two whole weeks!"

"Well, I suppose it's better than nothing-" I started.

"YES!" Leena cried, suddenly getting excited. I watched as she clambered up the ladder and into the tree house. I heard a few resounding crashes and other wise loud noises coming from above, but I dare not enter for fear of certain injury courtesy of my now delirious friend.

"Leena, is everything all right up there?" I called.

Leena poked her head out, showing me her findings. My friend proudly held up two fishing poles. "Fish!" she said brightly. "We can find a nice place to go fishing and catch some fish! Then we can cook the fish and EAT the fish! And it isn't jerky! Come on!"

I smiled. _Fishing- that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?_

I don't know WHY she knew about the fishing poles, but they would hopefully be lifesavers. Rather boring lifesavers, but lifesavers none the less. When she explained her idea to me, I had nodded in agreement, seeing that it was, actually a really GOOD idea. So with a little navigation on my part, we set our plan into motion.

"How long until one of the fish bites?" I asked.

"Patience, Glenn, patience," she said, sternly observing her fishing pole. "You have to be very, very patient when you go fishing. If we persevere and sit here long enough, I promise you that we will get a bite, and, therefore, dinner. Besides, depending on what we catch we could have a slightly better variety of food."

"Yeah, beef jerky and fish jerky," I joked.

"Ha, ha," said Leena. "Different fish taste different, you silly!"

I frowned. "Silly" was becoming a rather unwanted nickname on my part. Maybe it was one of her favorite words, I don't know, but she seemed to really like calling me that. "Okay, how do I make the fish bite faster?" I asked. Holding the pole between my knees, I cupped my hands over my mouth. "HEY! FISHY, FISHY, FISHY! I'VE GOT SOME NICE WORMS FOR YOU! YUMMY, YUMMY WORMS! GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE WRIGGLING!"

Leena slapped her forehead. "You've never been fishing in your entire life, have you?"

I laughed lightly. "How could you tell?"

"For one, yelling will only scare the fish away," she said. "You're lucky I left my saucepan back at the tree house or else you'd have a nice sized lump on your head for that one. Now, listen to me. You do NOT yell. Understand? No yelling what-so-ever. Got it?" I glumly nodded. She sighed. "If you REALLY want to try to get them to bite faster, you could try wiggling the line a little."

"Like this?" I asked, waving my fishing pole back and forth in wide arcs.

"Er. . . not that much," she said. "Quicker, and smaller arcs like these." I watched her much more articulate and calm wiggling, then tried to mimic her. Leena looked over at me and gave me a smile of approval. "Yes! Like that! If you keep that up you might get a fish yet!" she said, holding her pole between her knees to clap.

"Ha-ha!" I said proudly. "Look at me, Leena! I can fish!"

Leena laughed. "That's nice, Glenn. Now pay attention to the line- if it jerks away, you might have one," she said. I nodding, turning my attention back to the line. Aside from my own wiggling, it wasn't doing much. I frowned. _Leena said to have patience. So, you will have patience. And you will catch a fish. You can do this, Glenn! You can go up against monsters and the Devas, you can certainly do a simple thing like fishing!_

Suddenly, the line jerked. "Leena!" I said. "I think I got one!"

"Well reel it in!" she said.

"HOW?"

"The- ooo! I got one, too!" she said. I watched Leena as she jerked and tugged at the pole. I tried to follow her motions, seeing what she was doing to pull it in. I smiled, feeling the fish on the other end of the line as it began to submit to me, my hook, and my fishing pole.

Next thing I knew, I was proudly holding up a ten-inch long blue fish. "Hey Leena! I got a fish! I got a fish!" I said, looking over at my friend. "Leena, check out my- huh?" Leena was still trying to pull her fish in, a very determined look on her face. Soon, with a triumphant cry, my friend pulled her fish onto the shore.

I frowned.

"Dinner!" Leena cried, beginning to unhook the three-foot long fish she'd reeled in. She looked up at me and my fish. "Glenn, you're going to have to throw that fish back- I think it's still a baby." She then turned her attention back to the giant fish and started humming to herself.

Feeling rather disappointed in myself, I tossed the fish back.

"Well, you caught SOMETHING," Leena said. The two of us were sitting over a campfire I'd made with Leena's fish cooking. "I didn't catch anything until my fourth or fifth fishing trip. Serge used to laugh at me, waving his fish in front of my face until I caught something- then I slapped him with it." She grinned. "Don't worry about it- there's a lot of luck involved with fishing, too."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. At the very least the fish smells good."

"See? That's the spirit!" said Leena, grinning cheerfully.

I sniffed the air. "When will it be done?"  
Leena shot me a look. "Yeesh, Glenn, Guardia wasn't built in a day!"

I whimpered. "But it smells so good!"

"I can arrange for you to eat the jerky tonight."

I shut my mouth. I'd seen Leena deal with Serge before, and it hadn't been pretty.

Leena poked at the fish, sticking the tip of her tongue out the corner of her mouth as he lightly bit her bottom lip. "Hmm. . . I'd say another ten, twenty minutes or so. Then we can eat. All right, Glenn? Happy?" I inched away from her, hiding my head in my arms, shaking my head.

"Don't hurt me! I'm too young to die!" I mockingly pleaded. Leena fell to her back, laughing hysterically as she held her stomach. I looked up, grinning. I chuckled myself, shaking my head as Leena sat up, still smiling brightly as she looked at me. I sent a sly grin her way.

My friend smiled. "I like this."

"What?" I asked.

"Your attitude."

I blinked. "Attitude?"

"You were a stick in the mud when we were first marooned here, but yet, you were joking around with me earlier today when we were fishing. You were actually trying to have fun. You're acting your age and I'm proud of you!" she said. Leena smiled. "I think that it'll do you some good."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. You can't redo the past. . . oh. . . fifteen years or so, but you can try to live your life to the fullest now," she said. Leena poked the fish again. "You just can't spend your entire life staying within the rules. You have to stick your toe over the line when no one's looking sometime, and pull it back as soon as someone looks, unless they have their whole foot outside the line!"

"Line?"

". . . never mind."

That night, Leena fell asleep faster than I did. I could hear her soft, heavy breathing from across the room as she murmured something about Poshul and a garden- I could only imagine what the dog had gotten into, whether it was just a dream or a memory of something that happened to Leena some time ago.

I rolled over onto my back and tried to think about what Leena had said. She was right. I WAS acting rather strangely, wasn't I? I had broken just about every breach of conduct that had been beaten into my head since I was a child with the exception of some of the more, wild, rules. But why was I acting so strangely?

_Father. . . Dario. . . I wish you were still here. I don't know why I'm acting so strangely on this island. Is it the isolation beginning to get to me? I've been here about a week, even with the charges or Leena on the island with me,_ I thought to myself. I grunted in frustration, gritting my teeth. _What's happening to me?_

Somehow, my thoughts drifted several years earlier when I was still a child. I was about ten at the time and was wandering around Termina, trying to find something to do. Eventually, I saw Dario and Riddel just looking at the ocean from the town square overlooking the ocean. I had started to go over there when I saw the two of them looking at each other strangely. I remembered thinking that they were sick and that I should consider finding Radius and the General.

Apon further inspection, I saw my brother was ACTING strangely, too. He was making gestures with his hands as he told Riddel some story, a goofy look on his face as she started to giggle, putting her hands over her mouth. He had then put a hand on her shoulder, looked into her eyes, and then moved his head to the side of her head. She laughed again as he whispered something. At ten I thought that they must've been sick and turned to go find help. But that was about when I saw Dario move in to give Riddel a gentle, loving, and sensitive-

_No._

My eyes widened in realization as I looked over at Leena. I was making her giggle just like Dario had made Riddel giggle that day. When she laughed she had given me slightly shyer versions of the looks she gave him. Only a few things were missing from that occasion, and some how those things did not paint an ugly picture in my mind at all. In fact they were downright PRETTY pictures. I nearly bolted upright in my perch and had to grip the sides to keep from doing so, though it was hard because of how sweaty my palms had suddenly gotten thanks to a drastic rise in temperature. My heart was pounding in the back of my head as it finally hit me.

I was falling in love with Leena.


	7. Chapter Six

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Six

(Leena)

AN: Some ideas for these chapter are attributed to Lena Ban Obsidian.

The next day, I awoke to find that Glenn was (as usual) already up. But instead of hearing the sound of the Einlanzers smacking up against the old wooden practice dummy, I heard silence. Getting worried that Glenn was hurt, I kept my CureAll at the ready and raced down the ladder.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Glenn was just sitting quietly at the base of the tree, his chin in his palm and his elbow on his knee. I laughed, getting my friend's attention. "Glenn!" I said. "You scared me this morning! It was so quiet out here when I got up that I thought something happened to you!"

Glenn blushed. "I'm sorry, Leena, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just thinking, that's all," he said. He stood up, brushing off his pants. Glenn looked at me a bit nervously, coughing. He slowly began to walk up to me, turning his eyes to the ground. "So, er, how did you sleep last night, Leena?"

"Fine, I guess," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason! None at all!" Glenn said, shaking his head vigorously.

"Glenn?"

"Yes?" he asked tensely.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you feeling all right?" I asked.

Glenn laughed. "Why do you ask if I'm feeling all right?"

"Because you're acting weird."

The Dragoon paled. "I. . . I am?"

I shook my head, placing my hand on the side of my face. "Glenn. . . there's something wrong, isn't there?" I said. Glenn shook his head again, grabbing the collar of his tunic. I put my hand on my waist, clicking my tongue at him. "If you caught my flu then you should probably lie down."

"I'm not sick!" he insisted, picking up one of the Einlanzers. I watched as he darted over to the wooden dummy and started to hack at it wildly. "See? Everything's just fine, Leena! Look, I'm doing GREAT!" I scratched my head, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. This wasn't like him at all.

"Glenn! Calm down!" I said. Glenn stopped, breathing heavily as he lowered the blade's edge to the ground. I jogged over to him, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder. He shuddered, but turned to look me in the eye. "Okay, I don't know WHY you're acting like this but PLEASE- chill out! All right? Chill. It's only me, Leena. Take a deep, cleansing breath, all right?"

The noble knight did as I said, breathing in deeply and letting it out slowly. He nodded dumbly, placing a hand on the back of his head. "I apologize, Leena. I just lost my head there for a second. I'll be all right," he said. I smiled at him, giving him a pat on the back.

"Why don't you go lie down for a little while?" I suggested.

"All right," he said. He looked back at me, smiling weakly before he began to climb back up the ladder to the tree house. "I will see you in a few hours, Leena. If something happens, do not hesitate to awaken me. I promise I will not be grumpy towards you."

I frowned. "Okay," I said. "Have a nice nap."

"I would prefer not to call it a 'nap'," he said. "I just need to lie down." With that, Glenn disappeared into the tree house. After about five minutes, I climbed back up into the tree house. Sure enough, Glenn's still form was snoozing away. I smiled, putting my hand to my lips. Then, before I did something I was sure I'd regret, I went back down the tree house ladder.

Later that afternoon, a very sleepy Glenn climbed back down the ladder. I looked up from a book I'd found in the tree house and waved at him. He looked up at me, grunted his greetings, sat down on the ground with a yawn. "Whoo, Glenn, you don't look so good. You look awful!"

"I feel awful," he whimpered. And he DID look awful. His blonde hair was messier than usual, for starters, complete with nearly undone hair ribbon. Dark bags sat under his ocean blue eyes, which were also horribly bloodshot. His shoulders were very much slouched and he looked about twice his age from his posture.

I walked over and sat next to him, putting an arm around his shoulder. He leaned into me, resting his head on my shoulder. "Glenn, tell me what's wrong," I said. Glenn shook his head no. "No? You don't wanna talk about it?" He nodded. "All right. I won't press it any further if you don't want to talk about it. Can I get you something?"

"No thank you," he said.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh."

I ran my fingers through his hair, resulting in a sound of pleasure from the back of Glenn's throat. I could almost feel the tenseness leave him, and I smiled. "It'll be all right, Glenn. Whatever it is I'm sure that you'll be fine, all right?" I kissed his cheek, getting him to look at me in that tired curiosity you have when you're overly exhausted. I giggled. "I don't care if you don't want something, I'm hungry, and if you don't want lunch, that's fine by me."

"I'll have lunch," he said.

"Okay, you just sit tight and let me take care of it. It's the least I can do for you."

"Why?"

"Because you took care of me when I wasn't feeling good- and don't you dare tell me you feel fine because you don't look it! Got it? Got it. Good. And if I see you so much as LOOK at one of the Einlanzers the wrong way, you'll find it sheathed in a place where the sun doesn't shine," I said. Glenn dropped his jaw when I made the comment. "I was kidding about that last part, Glenn."

"Good, because that sounds quite painful."

That night, I awoke sometime, finding myself in the dark. Something had jolted me awake, yet I heard and saw nothing that told me what did so. Groaning to myself, I stuck my head under my pillow in attempts to go back to sleep. Glenn probably snored or something and it startled me. Yes, that was it. He snored. Perfect.

_But he hasn't snored before. . ._

"No. . . stop it. . ."

I slowly opened my eyes, yawning. _What was that?_

"Let me go. . ."

I sat up, looking over to where Glenn was sleeping. Or at least, where he was trying to sleep. Glenn was tossing and turning frantically, his breathing getting very quick and heavy as he whipped his head from side to side. His blanket was tangled around his feet, yet his legs were still trying to kick. His arms were whipping about in an almost random pattern. He was talking to someone, grunting and occasionally crying out in fear. I bit my lip- Glenn was having a nightmare.

"Get away from me. . . stop it. . . no. . ."

Concerned, I stood up and walked cautiously over to his bedside. "Glenn?"

"NO! STOP IT! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"GLENN!" I cried, my eyes widening in fear as I tried to hold his body down to stop the thrashing- he could have hurt himself that way! Unfortunately for me, Glenn was too strong and threw me off rather easily. I took one of his hands and held it between my own, trying to comfort him. "Glenn, calm down! Wake up! Please!"

By now his arms had begun to flail even more so and his face was pained. His hair was damp as sweat poured down his face in buckets, his free hand clawing at the sheets as he tried to get away from some imaginary foe. The hand I held was tightening its grip to the point where it almost hurt. "No. . . please. . . stop. . . I wanna go home! No! Stop it! Get away from me! Don't come any closer! No! No! Stop, please! I'm begging you! I didn't do anything to you! Have mercy on me!"

By now I was scared. What kind of a nightmare was this, anyways? "GLENN!" I screamed. No use- he was still lost in him nightmare. _What's hurting him? Could this be what's been bothering him? Did he not want me to know about this? _I sat down by his flailing form and grabbed his shoulders. I started to try and shake him away, all the while screaming as loud as I could to try and get him out of the dream. "Glenn! Glenn! Wake up, Glenn, you're having a nightmare! GLENN!"

"Curtis, no, stop it!" he cried, trying to push me away. "Get your hands off of me!"

_Oh no,_ I said, recognizing the name. I tried again. "GLENN!"

"MOMMY! HELP ME! COME BACK TO ME! PLEASE!"

"GLENN! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" I screamed.

Glenn continued to scream and thrash about wildly, only getting worse. After getting slapped a few times, I backed away from him, watching helplessly as he lived through what I assumed to be his childhood trauma all over again.. _No! I can't just leave him like this! I've got to do something to wake him up!_

Getting an idea, I went into my element supply again. Glenn might not be too happy about waking up wet again, but it was the only thing I could think off on such short notice. "AQUABALL!" I cried, aiming the element at the still hysterical Glenn. As the water hit him, he started to gag and cough, sitting up straight as he held his chest, blinking in a mixture of fear and pure confusion. I rushed to his side, wrapping my arms around his shaking form as he continued to cry. Wordlessly, he returned the embrace and buried his now thoroughly soaked head into my shoulder. Not caring, I continued to hold him, trying to calm his shaking form down.

"Glenn," I said.

"I. . . I. . ." he tried to say.

"Shh," I hushed him, gently lifting his chin up. His eyes were red from tears, blinking at me in an almost childlike manner. Such a change from that morning when he'd looked so much older- now he looked almost several years younger as the fear began to take over. "It's all right, Glenn. It was only a bad dream. A nightmare. It's okay, you're safe here with me. I won't let him get to you're here. I promise."

Glenn sniffled. "You, you don't understand."

"I know that," I said softly. "I will never be able to understand what you went through. But I'm here for you, Glenn, all right? I'm here for you. That awful man can't get you now, because he'll have to get through me first and I won't let him." I hugged him again, his entire body trembling with each new sob. I rubbed his back, still trying to calm him down and console his tear-wracked form.

"Thank you," he said.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me," I said. "But you're welcome anyways."  
He buried his head further into my shoulder. "Ever since, ever since my father died, I've had that same dream over and over again. It, it never, ever goes away," he said. He sniffled. "So many nights I find myself five years old again in that cold, dark room with that monster looming over me. And he uses that knife again and again and again and Dario and Karsh never come and he starts doing even WORSE things to me and mocks me and laughs at me and-"

"Oh, Glenn," I said sympathetically. "You've been having this nightmare for fifteen years?" _Fifteen years. I can't even remember back fifteen years ago. He's been having this nightmare longer than I can remember! Before some of the other party members were even born! Has he really been having the same dream over and over again for that long?_ I thought. My eyes narrowed._ I bet that's what was bothering him when he came out of the tree house looking like he'd been hit with ThundaSnake- he must've had that dream this morning two. Oh, Glenn, you poor soul._

"Yes," he said softly. "And it only seems to get worse every time."

I pushed some of the damp hair out of his face. "Are you going to be all right?"

Glenn looked down. "I, I don't know."

I gently turned his face to look at mine. "Just relax, okay? It was just a dream, and dreams can't hurt you, right?" I asked. Glenn nodded, and I smiled. "Good, so we know that dreams can't hurt you. Now our next problem is figuring out how to get the dreams to stop doing this to you."

"Stop?" he asked.

"Glenn, if the dream hasn't gone away for fifteen years- three fourths of your lifetime, I might add- then you need help. I don't know what kind of help but you just can't live with that nightmare. I've never seen anyone thrash about like that in their sleep, Glenn, and it scared me. You look awful right now and I don't like that one bit. Please," I said. I looked into his eyes. "Don't you want to stop having that nightmare?" Glenn dumbly nodded, whipping some tears away with the back of his hand. I smiled, kissing him cheek. "Good."

"I. . . thank you, Leena. I feel a lot better," he said.

I shook my head. "It's all right," I said. I looked at the floor, then back up at Glenn. "You know, if it would make you feel better, we can sleep on the floor so you don't have to be alone. I'll understand if you say no, but if you think you need a life size teddy bear, don't be afraid to ask."

Glenn shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you."

"You sure? I'm warm and cuddly," I said.

My friend shook his head, laughing nervously. "No thank you, Leena. G'night."

"Good night, Glenn," I said, giving him one last hug before retreating back to my cot. "Pleasant dreams."


	8. Chapter Seven

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Seven

(Glenn)

When Leena asked if I wanted to sleep on the floor with her, I wanted nothing MORE than that. I knew she would've made me feel better and assured me everything would be all right until we fell asleep. I knew she'd let me hold her as if she were some sort of a giant teddy bear, and I knew that I would've had the best nights sleep I'd had in years.

However, I didn't trust myself to not kiss her or say something stupid like "I love you". As responsible as I was from all my training as a Dragoon, what was I supposed to do in that kind of a situation when I KNEW I had developed feelings for her? Especially where I wasn't sure what KIND of feelings they were. Was it a crush? Was I in love? Or was it lusting that came from the fact we were the only human beings on the island for an entire week? I wasn't sure, and I was confused.

After Leena went back to her bed and my thoughts left the nightmare, they went right back to my female companion, much to a mix of my pleasure and dismay. All I could think of was her. Her laugh, her face, her walk, her eyes, her smile, her hair, her body, her EVERYTHING. Why was she doing this to me? How could she drive me wild without even trying?

I rolled over, facing the wall instead of the object of my desire. I nervously hugged myself, curling into a ball. Why, why, WHY? I clenched my eyes shut. Damn, I picked a real good time to figure out I had feelings for someone, didn't I? I had no one to discuss it with aside from Leena and I was afraid of what he reaction would be. Plus, we were stuck on the island for an indefinite amount of time. For all we knew the next baby-sitter could get held up for a few more days or forgot about it and we would be stuck there until someone noticed we were missing and the little ones were off the island. Or the little ones came back, which wasn't very likely.

Shaking my head, I sat up. I bit my lip, looking at Leena's still form. _How do you do it, Leena? How can you do this to me? How can you make my heart beat like a drum and my head spin like a wheel?_ I sighed longingly, then clamped my hand over my mouth, watching Leena closely for signs of her awakening. Nothing.

I stood up, slowly walking towards the entrance. I slipped outside and down the ladder. I needed to get out of that tree house- I needed to think where Leena couldn't find me. But where would I be able to go so that she wouldn't be able to find me? Where could I find a place of solace and quiet?

_Oh, come on, Glenn, you could go anywhere and have Leena not find you, _I thought to myself. So I started to go deeper into the woods to find a nice, quiet place to sit and think. That way it would take Leena a little while to find me, and, if I heard her, I would have some time to compose myself and not sound like the idiot I had been earlier. No Leena, everything was NOT fine.

* * *

_"What the. . .?"_

_ No longer was I on Hermit's Hideaway. Now I was in Termina Town Square on a beautiful, starlit night. No one else was around, and I was fully clad in my armor, though I found myself feeling a bit unnerved with the absence of the Einlanzers. Or any sword, for that matter. I blinked in confusion._

_"Don't be scared, Glenn."_

_ I nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt two arms wrap around my shoulders and warm breath on my neck. I broke free from the gentle grasp and turned to see Leena standing behind me, dressed in a short blue dress with no shoulders or sleeves, though pale blue gloves hugged everything from her fingertips to her elbows on either arm.. Her hair was up in a tight bun and she was wearing make-up. Even so, she still wore the black ribbon around her head as always._

_ "L. . . Leena?" I asked, blinking in astonishment as I stumbled backwards in shock. "You. . . you look amazing!" I started to walk around her, trying to figure out what was going on. "This dress. . . your hair. . . why, Leena? This isn't like you! Why are you so dressed up?"_

_ Leena turned to face me, putting her arms around my neck as she looked up at me, an adorable little pout on her cute face. "But Glenn. . . don't you like it?" she said. She then started to play with the collar of my tunic. "Don't you think I look really pretty right now?"_

_I swallowed hard. "Well, yes I do, but-"_

_ Leena placed a gloved finger to my lips. "Then don't say anything," she said. She took my hands and placed them on her body as soft music began to play in the moonlit background. She looked up at me with lustful eyes. "Oh Glenn, dance with me. Please! Dance with me!"_

_ Without thinking, I began to lead her around the town square, never taking my eyes off of her as we danced. Leena giggled in delight, reaching one hand up to play with my blonde locks. "Leena. . ." I said softly. She laughed, brining herself closer to me. "I don't understand, but somehow, I don't think I want to."_

_"Does it matter?"  
"I suppose it doesn't."_

_"No, it doesn't."_

_"Leena, I-"_

_BANG!_

_ The music was shattered by the sound of the gunshot. I turned my head to see a silhouette of a man in a Porre uniform standing where the statue of General Viper normally stood. I turned to look at Leena, but she was no where to be found. I turned back to the man, getting a bad feeling about it. The man stepped down, snickering. "My, my, my, you've certainly grown, haven't you? Not so naïve and childlike anymore, are you, Glenn?"_

_ I froze. "No! You're dead! Dario killed you ten years ago!" I shook my head in disbelief. "This has to be a dream! It just has to be! You're not real! You're dead, you bastard! You can't hurt me anymore!" I started to walk backwards from the man who had haunted my dreams for the past fifteen years._

_Curtis snickered. "Oh, well is that so, Glenn? No, that isn't so," he said._

_"But this must be a dream!" I said. _There's no WAY Leena would do something that bold, especially since I have no idea if she likes me or not,_ I thought. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Curtis, you're just a figment of my imagination, so just leave me the hell alone and stop haunting me. I've had enough of this! I'm tired of this! Go away!"_

_ The deceased Porre commander began to laugh. "You are correct, Glenn, this is a dream, but it isn't a NORMAL dream," he said. He started to circle me like a predator would its prey, eyeing me almost hungrily. "You see, you ruined my life after you got away from me. I was demoted after that. My son lost respect for me. I was given menial tasks and for five years I had to struggle to get back to where I was. And then your brother killed me. And do you know why? If I hadn't been demoted, I would've been promoted. I would've been higher in rank and wouldn't have gone to battle that day. Don't you see, Glenn? You killed me. And you're going to pay for killing me."_

_ My eyes widened in shock. "No," I said, shaking my head. "There's no way you're Curtis! You're just a figment of my imagination! You aren't real!" I jumped into a fighting stance, ready to use fists if need be- oh sure my forte is swords, but I DID grow up around two older boys who liked to rough house._

_ Curtis snickered. "I'll prove it to you that I've the real deal," he said. Before I knew what was happening, I felt a white hot pain across my right arm. I cried out, my left hand instinctively reaching over to clutch the wound. I lifted my palm to see it had warm, red blood on it. I looked up at my tormentor, watching as he laughed maniacally as I was suddenly swallowed up by a tidal wave. . .

* * *

_

"AQUABALL!"

KER-PLOOSH!

I awoke, gagging and coughing for air. I blinked to see it was day and a very concerned Leena was standing over me. I narrowed my eyes. "Leena! How many times do you have to use that stupid element on me?" I said a bit irritably as I stood up with a little help from my friend.

"You were having another nightmare!" she said, looking at me in worry. "You were thrashing about again because of that cursed Curtis man." She sighed heavily. "When I woke up and couldn't find you, I got worried, especially after I heard you screaming again. What were you doing out here?" Her eyes widened. "Please don't tell me you don't know because that mean's you're sleepwalking. What if you sleepwalk right into the surf on the beach? We'd never see you again!"

I sighed heavily. "No, I didn't sleepwalk here," I said. "I just needed a place to think alone and I must have dozed off." I put my left hand on my forehead. "That dream there was different. This was the first time I saw him when I WASN'T a little kid. It was really weird." I removed my hand, and Leena gasped. "What?"

"Glenn, there's blood on your forehead!"

I widened my eyes in panic and looked at my hand. "Blood," I said. Not sure if I wanted to look, I started to inspect the sleeve of my tunic and saw a deep slash in the fabric. When I opened the hole a little bit wider to take a closer look at my arm, I almost fainted dead away.

A nice, long, bleeding cut greeted me.

Right where Curtis cut me in the dream.

Leena moved my hand, grabbing my arm. "Glenn! How did you do that to yourself?"

"I, I don't know!" I said, starting to panic.

Leena sighed. "Well, we have some bigger problems to worry about right now," she said. She gave me a slightly grim look. "Come on. Let's get back to the tree house so I can get this wound treated. I'll fill you in on what happened when we get there, because you're going to want to sit down for this one."

"Oh joy."

Leena was right- it was some pretty bad news.

Apparently, Serge had gone to my cabin in Termina a few days earlier to speak with me about something and, of course, found I wasn't there. When he asked around town to see if anyone had seen me and no one had, he'd gotten worried and had started a search party to try and hunt me down. Someone had left a note for Leena the previous night explaining the situation as asking to make sure the little ones didn't panic.

"So exactly what does this mean?" I asked. I had taken my shirt off and Leena was cleaning and dressing the cut as she told me the entire story. "We only have a week until someone is due to show up here, right? So when they find me here then they'll call off the search and then Serge will get mad at the little traitors for causing all this trouble."

"It isn't that easy. The note says I'm indefinitely here because he's having Irenes, who's next after me, searching the depths of the ocean where everyone else can't look in fear that you might've drowned on your way back," said Leena. I paled. "That means we could be here for MONTHS!"

I gulped. "Months?"

"Yes, months!" she said. "Glenn, this is really bad! Since they didn't see a boat here they probably thought you'd already left the island and it was just me and the little ones! The note was left on the railing of the tree house balcony. With the boat gone and me the only one in the tree house they probably assumed the little ones were in the grass house and you had already left last week with the boat!"

I lowered my head. "Damn," I said. Leena tightened the last bandage and I winced, nearly biting the tip of my tongue off in the process. "Ah! Damn it! That's tight, that's tight!" Leena apologized and loosened the wound. I sighed with relief. "That's much better, thank you." Leena patted my shoulder, a sweet smile on her face.

"Well, don't you dare leave the tree house area at night- someone might come back to question me if they don't run into the little ones first, so one of us should be here in the area of the tree house at all times," said Leena. "If they see you, they might get a little suspicious that we're having some sort of an affair under everyone's noses, but once we explain everything they'll realize otherwise."

I blushed at the mention of such an idea. "But, well, we'd never do that!"

"Oh, I know, but that's why it would surprise them!" she said. She grabbed my tunic and inspected the hole, biting her bottom lip. "You mind running around shirtless for a little while so I can sew this hole up? There's a sewing kit around here somewhere and I think I can repair this."  
"Er, thank you," I said. Leena smiled, standing up before she walked over to a rather crowded shelf. I breathed up at my bangs. Perfect. Now things had gotten worse- everyone thought I was dead and because of that we had no idea how long we'd be stuck on the stupid island. That was that much longer that I had to either try to hide my feelings from Leena or try and gather the guts to tell her what I was feeling.

The latter was easier said than done.

Plus, that was only the beginning of my problems. While it was very possible I could have gotten a cut from thrashing about during the nightmare and the pain just happened to translate over into the dream, the slice was just too neat. Too clean. A branch would have left some dirt or bark pieces and the tunic would have a jagged hole.

No.

Curtis could now hurt me from beyond the grave.


	9. Chapter Eight

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Eight

(Leena)

Things were rather grim on Hermit's Hideaway. Now that we knew we were on the island for who knew how long, we were both a little depressed. Glenn seemed to have something else on his mind, probably a result for his really bad day with the nightmares. I tried to get something out of him, but he just kept shaking his head and saying he needed to deal with it on his own.

That scared me. He just couldn't handle it alone- what made him think that he could still do it by himself when the dream hadn't left him alone for fifteen stupid years? What was with him? I knew that Glenn was a strong and independent person, but no matter who you are, there are times that you need to stop and admit to yourself that you need help!

So, whether or not he liked it, I resolved to help him.

Luckily, Glenn listened to me when I told him that we should have at least one of us in the vicinity of the tree house at all times and, sure enough, he was tinkering around in the garden. He heard me behind him, turned around, and waved at me. "Hello, Leena," he said. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head, taking a seat on a stump by the garden. "No, not at all, but. . . all right, there is something wrong," I said. Glenn looked up in curiosity, falling backwards so he was sitting on the ground. "I'm worried about you. Those nightmares. I don't get it. Why, after fifteen years of trying to put it behind you, if that's what you've been trying to do, do you still think you can do this by yourself?"  
Glenn shook his head. "No, Leena, you don't understand. It's getting really weird."

"Weird?" I asked. "Why's it getting weird? Please tell me that much."

The knight stood up. "You'd think I was crazy if I told you."

I gave him my best Look. "Wanna try me?"

"But this is different from everything else."

"Between parallel worlds, ghost ships, body switching and just MEETING half the people in the party, you think I'm going to think that something like this is in the least bit strange? Glenn, everything I've done since I joined up with Serge has been strange. At this point something normal will be strange," I said. "Now just tell me already!"

Glenn sighed. "All right, but I'll warn you- this is just freaky," he said. He lifted up the sleeve of his tunic. "See that wound?" I nodded. I'd dressed it earlier and sewn the tunic. "Well, in my dream, Curtis sliced me up right in that exact same spot. Leena, I think that he's real."

I blinked. "What?"

My friend stood up. "I knew it. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No I don't!" I said. "But. . . well, what if it was just a branch or something?"

"The cut was too clean," he said. "If it was a branch or something there'd be bark or dirt surrounding it. I just don't understand it. But it's the only thing that makes even a little bit of sense." He looked up at me. "In the dream, he told me about what happened to him in the five years between the time he hurt me and the day my brother killed him. He said that he'd been demoted and his son had stopped respecting him. He said that he'd spent those last five years working his way back up into the ranks and when he was finally back where he was when he kidnapped me, he met with Dario. Curtis blamed me for his death. He said that if I hadn't run away then not only would he have not been demoted, but he probably would've been promoted to a point where he'd have some big hot shot rank like General or Lieutenant General. You know, a rank with a lot of protection?"

I snorted. "That shows how much of a coward he was. Going after a defenseless five year old and wanting to hide behind a rank he earned from doing something sick and twisted like that?" I said. I shook my head. "But it's probably just your imagination telling you that story, Glenn."

"And what if we ask Norris what happened to Curtis?" he said. "The fact that Norris didn't get along with his dad is something I figured out a while ago and I didn't need Curtis to tell me that. But the demotion thing is another story. If we ever get a chance to talk with him again then we should ask him about it."

"Why?" I said. "Glenn, you're over reacting. You haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple of days and I think it's starting to get to you. I want you to calm down, relax, and try not to think about." Glenn gave me a hurt look. "I did NOT call you crazy- but I do think you're over tired and something other than a dream knife gave you that cut- maybe someone dropped a knife or something that we didn't see and you rolled over on that. So calm down. You'll NEVER get rid of those dreams if you keep thinking and worrying over them."

Glenn gave me a weak smile and laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said. He chuckled again. "I MUST be over tired. Still, it was a pretty spooky dream, even if it was just that." He sighed heavily. "Dario and Karsh were always telling me that my dreams can't hurt me, but they always scared me. I mean, after what I went through? Radius used to wonder how I never ended up in a mental asylum."

"Because you're stronger than that," I said, walking over to where he sat and sitting down next to him. "You've been dealt some pretty difficult things to deal with, yet I think you're a really, really sweet guy." Glenn blushed at my compliment and I giggled. "I'm serious! You're polite and charming and noble and courteous- how are you still unattached?" I grinned, tracing a playful finger over the scar. "And I don't care what those kids said when you're growing up- that scar looks kinda handsome on you now."

Glenn's face had gone from a rosy pink to a crimson red in a matter of seconds. "Uh, wha?"

I laughed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Well, I think so, anyways."

Glenn shook his head. "Somehow, hearing you say that has made the last fifteen years of ridicule and hell all seem worthwhile." After staying calm for a few seconds, his eyes suddenly widened as he suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity and he just shook his head.

"Glenn? Are you all right?"

More heading shaking as he stood and started to back away from me.

I placed an irritated hand on my hip. "Glenn!" Before I could say another word, he ran away from me and up into the tree house. I blinked in surprise, then, getting a little irritated with his behavior, ran right after him. _Glenn, I don't know what's gotten into you but guess what? I'm about to find out whether you like it or not!_

Once I was in the door, I saw he was staring at me like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar up against the base of the tree. "L, Leena!" he said. "I, I, I-" I shook my head, and he sighed, looking at the floor. "I really don't wanna talk about this. You'd hate me if you knew."

I shook my head. "No, I won't," I promised. I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Glenn, as soon as you accept my compliment and, elaborated, on it, you ran off. Mind letting me know what made you do that? You've been acting so strangely around me lately and, well, it's confusing me. Is it about the dream?"

Glenn gulped. "Well, no, it isn't the dream."

"Then what is it?"

Glenn looked like I was an executioner asking him if he was ready to die. "Well, a few nights ago, after the fishing, I started thinking," he said. He paused, trying to choose his next words carefully. "I thought about what you said about me acting my own age and I guess I found myself comparing my behavior to Dario when he was twenty."

I nodded. "You shouldn't be comparing everything you do to your brother but go on."

"Well, the way I was acting really made me think of Dario," he said. He gulped. "More specifically, how Dario acted around. . . well. . . Riddel." I winced, closing his eyes. "I, I don't know if it's just the fact that we're stuck on the island and the isolation is beginning to get to me but. . . I'm starting to get the idea I'm attracted to you."

I froze. "You're what?"

Glenn bit his lip. "You hate me, don't you?"

I gasped and shook my head no. "No, no, no, of course not!" I said, laughing. I smiled at him. "You had me worried sick that you were mad at me or something like that! I don't hate you at all!" I grinned, winking at him in a way my mother had taught me some time ago. "Actually, I'm a little flattered by that."

Glenn's cheeks turned red yet again. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

The two of us stood in a stunned, awkward silence. _So THAT'S what all this is about_, I thought to myself. _In addition to this sudden "attack" of nightmares he's been having, he thinks he's starting to develop some sort of a crush on me, maybe even falling in love. _I closed my eyes. _I think I'd probably do the same if I were in his shoes. No wonder he's been so confused._

_And so are you._

_What?_

_You heard me, Leena. Remember that little smack you gave me him on the nose?_

_I was sick!_

_So?_

_I wasn't thinking clearly._

_ Neither has Glenn. And you're the one who came up with the idea that he was charming and sweet and all that other junk you said earlier. You even went out and said that you thought his scar made him look cute. C'mon, admit it- you have a little crush on him, too._

_No I don't!_

_Just look at him for a minute._

_Why should I?_

_Trust me- I'm your subconscious, I know what I'm doing._

I slowly looked up at Glenn. He was nervously looking out the window, tracing a circle on the floor with his toe. He was holding his elbow behind his back, one arm hanging idly by his side. His large, blue eyes looked almost peaceful, even in the VERY awkward silence we stood in. Without his armor, his tunic and pants hung loosely on his trim frame, making him look much smaller than he did with the armor on. The scar on his cheek made him look twice his age, yet half his age, all at the same time. Somehow it all seemed to work together in some sort of an unsung melody, and I smiled.

Maybe my subconscious was right.

I slowly started to walk up to Glenn. I started to look him up and down, trying to evaluate him further. Was this someone I could fall in love with? Someone I could find happiness in? Or was it just the result of spending just a little too long on the island alone the guy?

Glenn noticed me walking up to him. He gave me a weak smile.

_What a smile. . ._

I grinned. "You know, Glenn, I meant everything I said earlier."

Glenn nodded in response. "I know."

A pause so pregnant it was just about ready to go into labor.

By now the two of us were mere inches apart. I had to look up at him, and he was staring down at me. Neither of us said a word as I slowly felt his fingers intertwine with mine. I gave him a reassuring smile. Glenn lifted a free hand to my chin and slowly lifted my face upwards.

"Bliss" does not even begin to describe the kiss he gave me.

* * *

That afternoon had to have been one of the happiest of my life. The two of us spent the rest of day in the shade of the tree house in a nice and snug embrace, just laughing and talking about the past week. I gathered up the nerve to tell Glenn about how I'd kissed his nose when I was sick ("Oh, so that's why I had that dream about the giant feather duster tickling my nose") and he told me that part of his last dream involved a romantic moonlit dance. We had another laugh about the swimming hole incident and I poked fun at Glenn and his fish.

"You know, if someone actually does come to question you they're gonna be up in arms when they see us like this," said Glenn. I was sort of in his lap, my head resting on his chest and my eyes looking up at his face. "In fact, whoever shows up first is going to blow a gasket."

"Who cares?" I said.

Glenn chuckled. "Eh, you're right. Screw them."

"Screw them," I repeated.

Glenn wrapped his arms around me. "I never thought there was even the slightest possibility you had feelings for me, too, you know," he said. "I honestly though you'd laugh at me, then, when you saw I was serious, never speak to me again and leave me a heartbroken man."

"Aw, why would I do that to such a sweet and sensitive guy like you?" I said.

". . . who you calling 'sensitive'?"

"You."

"I'm not sensitive."

"Oh, well in that case you're definitely ticklish."  
"What in the- HEY! CUT THAT OUT! LEE-NA!"

"Ah yes, the Glenn tickle spot. I'm going to have to remember that," I said. By now I was sitting on him, attacking what I now learned was his very sensitive rib cage. Glenn was only half-trying to throw me off, too busy laughing to give any sort of a real attempt. He opened one eye, his face still red from laughter.

"If THAT'S how you want to play," he said, managing to pry my fingers from his ribs, "then let's play!" I yelped in surprise as he pushed me down on my back and began to try and find my tickle spot. I shrieked in delight and horror as he stuck his hand under my arms. I kicked up at him only resulting in more laughter and disorientation on both of our parts.

Before long, the two of us were lying on the ground, both of us laughing in pure hysterics. I looked over at Glenn, seeing a piece of grass stuck in his hair. I reached over, and his eyes followed my hand in interest. I plucked the offensive plant from his head and dangled it infront of his eyes. "What's that?" he asked.

"Grass," I said.

"Oh. It looks like a big blurry green line to me because you got it so close to my eyes."

"Poor you."

"Yes, poor me."

One more look had us both killing each other laughing again.


	10. Chapter Nine

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Nine

(Glenn)

Night fell apon us soon enough, and it was time to go to sleep. Still feeling rather mushy and romantic, I thought that it would be nice to sleep under the stars. Leena went right for it and the two of us were dragging pillows and blankets outside, setting up a makeshift campsite.

Once we had everything set up, I started to point out different constellations to her that my father and Radius had taught me for navigational purposes (and the occasional bedtime story). Leena nodded, lazily resting her head on my shoulder and placing a hand on my arm.

"Glenn?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think this could go anywhere?"  
"You mean 'us'?"  
"Exactly."

I turned to her, kissing her nose. "What do you mean by that?"

"How far do you see us going?" she asked. "Two days, a few months, the rest of our lives? Do you think that we could make this relationship a real serious one? Like one that could possibly lead to a marriage or something? I know I'm kind of jumping the gun, but I'm just curious as to what's on your mind on the subject."

I shrugged. "How should I know? For now, I'm content right where I am now," I said. I put my hands behind my head. "Just lying under the stars with you by my side. . . this is so peaceful and nice. I wish this moment could last forever. Just you and me here for all time."

Leena gave me a suspicious look. "What do you mean by that, Glenn?"

It took me a minute to figure out what she was referring to. "Whoa, whoa, nu-uh-uh! I'm not looking for THAT!" I said, sitting up and looking at her. I shook my head. "First of, Serge would kill me for touching someone whose tech skills contain the words 'virgin' and 'maiden'. Second, Viper would kill me- nah, skin me alive is more like it- because when you enlist into the Acacia Dragoons you take a vow of chastity until you decide to marry, if you decide to marry at all. But you can get in big trouble if you aren't married and you're getting joined at the hip."

My friend turned sweetheart looked at me with a wide smile. "You're a virgin?"

I raised an eyebrow, feeling a little hurt. "You thought I WASN'T!"

Leena laughed. "I don't know," she said. "Now don't get me wrong, I don't think you're the town playboy or anything like that but . . . bah, Steena and I are the only ones that people really look at and think 'virgin' or 'maiden'. I see you, I think 'knight' and 'Dragoon' and 'mine'. So I guess the long and short of it is that I never really sat down and thought to myself 'gee, is Glenn a virgin?', you know what I mean?"

I nodded, understanding what she was getting at with her little speech. "Even if I didn't take that vow, it isn't like I have a long list of old girlfriends anyways," I said. I rolled my eyes, breathing out heavily. "And it's not like I haven't been tempted before, either. Last year I somehow got involved with this woman with a body that I know a lot of women would KILL for- the florist told me that- and she tried to get me into her apartment's bedroom right from the first date. I know some guys outside of the Dragoons who would've had their pants off before you can say 'Viper Churro'. But I told her that I wouldn't ruin my family's reputation for a one night romp in bed. She said it was okay and she wouldn't do it again, but after she tried it two more times I said 'uh-uh' and left."

Leena looked at me with a higher value of respect. "I'm impressed."

I nodded. "If I'd continued to pursue a relationship with her my father would have rolled over in his grave," I mumbled. "You know, she ended up getting pregnant not long after I dumped her and last time I saw her she was walking around Termina with the most sleazy looking man I've ever seen in my entire life and the absolutely putrid looking kid. It screamed and cried and gave a few people a near heart attack."

"All babies scream and cry," said Leena. "You probably did when you were a baby."

I shook my head. "Not like that kid. It sounded like something was DYING," I said. I shrugged. "That's what she gets for spreading her legs to everyone she meets, though. A slime ball for a husband and a banshee for a baby. Serves her right." I shook my head. "But enough on her- she's not important. She's behind me, she ruined her life on her own, and she isn't any concern to me anymore."

"Yes, that's because I am!" Leena insisted, pointing at herself. She kissed my forehead. "Mine." She kissed my lips. "Mine." She kissed my neck. "Mine." She traced her hands over my arms, chest, and stomach, saying "Mine" after each time. She then hugged me. "You get that? MINE! MINE, MINE, MINE!"

"Hey!" I argued with a smile on my face. "I'm not some trophy boyfriend!"

Leena giggled. "You're not?"

I wasn't sure if I was flattered or insulted. _I REALLY hope she's only being possessive in a playful way, or else I need to find a way off of this island before she carves her name into my forehead,_ I mused. But one look at Leena told me otherwise. _Nah. Let her have a little fun. She looks so cute when she's happy- don't spoil this moment any._

My sweetheart sighed happily as she fell onto her back, her head bouncing as it hit the pillow. She yawned cutely, pulling my down onto the blanket so she could wrap her arms around my waist. "Sleepy time," she announced. I chuckled as she proceeded to cuddle as close as it was humanly possible. She looked up at me, kissing my nose and then my lips. "Good night."  
"Good night."

Leena smiled sleepily at me. "I love you," she said softly.

I gave her a peck on the lips. "I love you, too."

* * *

_"Glenn. . . oh Glenn!"_

_ I groaned, looking around to see I was once again in some sort of a dream world. This time, however, I wasn't sure where I was. It looked like the inside of a castle hallway of some sort from all of the stone grey bricks. Six torches lined the walls around me, giving the whole area a rather eerie feel as shadows bounced of the walls with the flicker of the flames. I bit my lip, seeing that the only way to go was down the long, dark corridor and hope for the best._

_ I looked down at myself, very pleased to see I was armed once again, and, much to my pleasure even more so, the Einlanzers were swinging at my sides, ready for me to use them. I smiled, patting both swords. After securing my arm shield, I started to slowly walk down the dark hallway._

_ With each step I took, more torches lit themselves, and those that were behind me extinguished. I wondered if it was some sort of a treadmill and there was no end to this hallway. While it was creepy, there was most definitely worse that I could deal with. I KNEW I was dreaming- in the real world I was asleep, Leena hanging off me like I was her personal teddy bear (which I didn't mind in the least)._

_ Soon, however, I could make out the faint outline of some sort of a throne ahead of me. I squinted, wondering what was on the throne. Or, more specifically, who was on the throne. Clutching one of my hands on one of the Einlanzers, I picked up the pace and continued on towards my supposed goal._

_ When I stood before the throne (well. . . before some carpeted steps that led TO the throne, but before it none the less), I could definitely see that someone was sitting on it, but it was so dark around them that I couldn't see what the person looked like. I tried to see if I could recognize some sort of an outline or a breathing pattern, but no such recognition came._

_FLASH!_

_ I had to shield my eyes as the room was suddenly illuminated. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that it was, once again, my worst nightmare lounging across the seat with a catlike grin on his face. I growled. "Curtis!" I sneered, drawing the Einlanzers. "I don't know how you're doing this, but I'm not going to run away anymore!"_

_ Curtis chuckled, swinging his legs around to the front. "I don't want you to run away, Glenn. I want you to stay right here," he said. I lowered the Einlanzers, but didn't re-sheath them- that would've been stupid. He stood up and began to descend the few steps until we were face to face. His mouth curled into a very smug grin. He shook his head, raising a hand to the scarred cheek. I backed away, never taking my eyes off of the source of my childhood torment._

_"What do you want?"_

_ "I thought you already knew that- revenge," he said. Curtis roughly grabbed my chin, causing me to drop the Einlanzer and prevent me from retrieving them. He twisted my face around to see the scarred cheek. He chuckled, tracing a gloved hand over the old wound. "I must say I did quite a nice job here. So clean, so neat, so hideous, if I do say so myself. The finest piece of art I've ever completed."_

_ "You know what, Curtis? You're a sick bastard and you're a coward- Norris hates you for a REASON," I said, trying to pull away from his grip with little results. _Leena, you can wake me up anytime with that AquaBall you love so much_, I thought grimly. "He hates you because he knows you're a monster!"_

_ "Norris hated me because of my demotion- wait just a damned second," said Curtis, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He shoved me on the ground, where I landed roughly. I saw the Einlanzers on either side and tried to grab them, but before I could lay so much as a finger on them, they both disappeared. I looked up at Curtis, who had a confused and curious expression on his face. "How did you know my son's name?"_

_ I grinned. "How else do you think my brother and Karsh were able to sneak into that facility without some inside help?" I said. Curtis' eyes widened. "Norris was that fourth kid with the rest of us when you confronted us. He's the one who helped me escape into the woods outside of Porre. He's the one who was able to get that nun to hide us in the broom closet of the shrine."_

_"WHAT?"_

_ "Do you know WHY Norris did that? Because he was smart enough at eleven years old to figure out that what you did was morally wrong- you were the sickest, most vile soldier in the entire Porre army for what you did! General Viper would execute anyone who harmed a child no matter who their parents were!" I said. "Besides, if you were more comfortable attack a FIVE YEAR OLD, then that shows you must be pretty weak!"_

_ Curtis snarled, and snapped his fingers. The throne and the hallway faded away into a more dungeon like setting. No longer was I on the floor, either- my hands were bound above my head, my back to a wall and my feet several inches off the ground. I looked up at the binds in frustration, trying to slip out. I looked before me to see Curtis laughing hysterically._

_ "That's right, boy, struggle all you'd like. It won't do you any good when I kill you here and now," he said. My eyes widened in terror. That slice on the arm was just a warning to try and jostle my nerves. If he could do something that simple to my in my dreams and make it a reality, couldn't he just as easily kill me, too?_

_ I shook my head in defiance. If he wanted to play mind games, then we'd play mind games. "Yeah, what a big man you are. Killing me where I'm unarmed, tied up and unable to fight back. What great revenge you're gonna have killing me as helpless as I am. If you were a REAL man then you'd fight me honorably, not tied up like this, you yellow-bellied coward."_

_ Curtis' eyes flared up. I'd learned the hard way from Poshul that calling someone of the innate attribute Yellow a "yellow-bellied coward" was a BAD idea, and I knew that Curtis was Yellow innate. _Crap. Now I've just pissed him off. Good going, Glenn, Leena's going to wake up tomorrow morning to find a dead body in her arms,_ I thought with a heavy heart. I closed my eyes. _Mother. . . Father. . . Dario. . . I'll be with you soon.

_Curtis chuckled, a huge executioner's ax appearing in his hands. "Say good-bye, Glenn." His eyes were menacingly wide as he drew the blade backwards, ready to swing it forward and kill me in one blow. My eyes widened in terror as I watched the blade begin its journey from behind Curtis to my body-

* * *

_"AQUABALL!"

KER-PLOOSH!

I sat up, shaking my head free of the water from Leena's element. I looked over at my concerned girlfriend, shaking. "Leena. . . you saved my life!" I said. "He tried to kill me! He tried to kill me! That bastard was going to end my life! The cut was a warning shot! He wants to kill me!"

To say the least that scared the living daylights out of Leena as her eyes widened in terror. "Glenn! Glenn! Are you all right! GLENN!" she cried out. She dove onto me, smoothing me in hugs and kisses. I immediately immersed myself in her advances, feeling as if I was ready to start crying.

"Leena. . ." I said. "Oh, Leena. . ."

"It's all right," she said. She looked at me. "What happened?"

I shook my head. "I don't think there are ordinary nightmares, Leena. They're getting too real for my liking, and so vivid! They've NEVER been this vivid before! Never this real!" I sighed heavily, putting a hand on my forehead. "Maybe I AM going crazy. Leena, this is getting stupid!"

Leena gently ran her fingers through my hair. "Glenn, I don't know what to tell you. The only thing I can do is try and comfort you after they're over. We're going to have to wait until we can talk with Steena or maybe even Norris, what with Curtis being his father, on this one. There isn't much I can do."

I sighed, leaning into her. "I know, but I'm scared."  
"I am, too."


	11. Chapter Ten

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Ten

(Leena)

Once I was able to calm Glenn down to almost his normal self, we had breakfast and decided to wait on the beach to see if we could possibly shout over one of the search boats. That way we could get off the island and get Glenn to see Steena or Greco about his dreams and consult Norris for more information about that Curtis jerk.

I noticed Glenn was uptight and had wanted to don his armor. I advised against it, reminding him that he had been armed in his last two dreams. "But what if I'm not armed in the next dream I have and Curtis just runs me through or blasts me to pieces?" he'd argued with me.

"What different would it make if your physical being was armored or not?" I said.

Seeing my point, Glenn didn't put his armor on, though he was a LITTLE clingy to me. Not that I minded the contact, mind you. But I wanted him to get close to me out of desire and affection, not fear and a want of protection. Still, to know that I was making him feel at least a little better about the whole thing made me feel a little better, too.

I didn't think that Curtis' ghost was visiting him in his dreams like Glenn seemed to think, but then again, it wasn't all that long ago I didn't even fathom the idea of being able to visit alternate realities. Yet here I was IN an alternate reality so I could watch a Poshul from this alternate reality and several creatures I wasn't sure what to make of. Of course those creatures had deserted us here, but that was WHY I had gone to the island in the first place.

Glenn sighed. "Well, still no signs of life," he said. He turned to me. "Feel like just heading back to the main part of the island? Or maybe we can head back to the swimming hole and go swimming for a little while? They'll be bound to look for us if NO ONE is at the tree house, right?"

I giggled. "But this time wouldn't involve skinny dipping, of course."

Glenn's face flushed. "Uh, of course not!"

I laughed, punching him playfully on the arm. "C'mon! I'll race you."

He grinned, standing up and brushing his pants off. "All right, then we'll race," he said, getting into a starting position. I followed suit, looking at him with a wide grin on my face. "We'll start to run on the count of three, all right?" I nodded. Glenn patted his thigh. "All right then. One, two-"

And he started to run.

"HEY! NO FAIR!"

Glenn's laughter rang behind him. "All's fair in love and war!"

I rolled my eyes. _Well, at least he's trying to ACT happy.

* * *

_

"INCOMING!"

SPLASH!

I laughed hysterically, holding onto the branch for dear life as the splash reached up to where I was perched in my undershirt and panties. Glenn had taken me up to the tree branch he and his brother used to jump from to initiate a "game" of jumping down into the water. I watched the ripples of the surface where he'd fallen, waiting for him to come up. I smiled as I saw him break the surface. He shook his head, sending water droplets everything. He looked up at me with a sweet grin on his face. "Come on, Leena, the water's fine!"

I looked down at the water. I loved water, being Blue innate, but for some reason I was a little nervous to jump. "I don't know, Glenn," I said. "It seems kind of high up. Are you sure it's safe?" Glenn gave me a sort of shocked look, raising an eyebrow at me. I scoffed. "What's it to you?"

"You're innate color is BLUE. If anything you'll have a better landing than I did! It's just a little water," he said, flicking some water towards a nearby rock. He looked up at me, then started to nod knowingly. "I get it. It isn't the water you're afraid of- it's the height, isn't it?"

I blushed. Maybe he was right. I looked down at my lap, thinking this over very deeply. I was all right with places that were high up as long as I was secure, but I didn't like falling. "I think you're right, Glenn- Glenn?" I looked down to where he'd been treading water and saw he was gone. "Glenn!"

"I'm right here."

I shrieked, turning behind me to give him a stern look. "You snuck up on me!" I berated, shaking my finger at him. Glenn smiled, shaking his head. "You jerk! You nearly scared the living daylights out of me!" Seeing that my scolding him was going no where, I gave up. "All right, I suppose you're coming up to jump in again, right?"

Glenn nodded, running his hands over his pants, which were thoroughly soaked through and stuck to his legs. "Yes, Leena, I do plan on jumping into the swimming hole again," he said. He looked up at me. "And this time I'm not going without you jumping in with me!"

"Excuse me?"  
"Come on, I won't let you go for a second and you'll see that it's perfectly safe," he said. He gave me a very charming smile. "I wouldn't make you do anything that I thought wasn't safe- I've been doing this since before I was even half your age. So are you a woman or are you a mouse?"  
_Ooo. He's good._

"All right," I said, standing up, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I'll jump."

Glenn nodded in approval, standing up next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. "Good, I'm glad," he said, kissing the side of my neck. I shot him another look, and he laughed. "You look so cute when you're angry. Anyone ever tell you that?" I narrowed my eyebrows at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Only this," he said, leaning backwards.

SPLASH!

"GLENN!"

Of course HE though it was the greatest thing in the world as the two of us came to the surface and I called him every bad name I could think of, unmentionable and silly alike. Glenn just about killed himself laughing after each name, though he did give me a few mock hurtful "Hey!" comments here and there.

The two of us swam to the shore and sat in the sun, waiting to dry off a little. I sighed happily. "I needed that- nice and cool." Glenn nodded, looking up into the sky. I tried to see what he was looking at, only to see nothing but blue all around. "It is a real nice day, isn't it?" I said. "Not a cloud in the sky."

"Uh huh."

I turned to Glenn. "Are you okay?"

My friend-turned-boyfriend nodded. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Different things," he said.

"Gold for your thoughts?"  
"Different things," he said. Glenn looked over at me in a sort of sleepy gaze. "I can tell you right now one of them is you." I smiled. "I'm also thinking about my brother and what he'd think of it- he always used to tease me whenever I thought I had a crush on a girl. Karsh, too, for that matter. And then that stupid nightmare spell I've been having is on my mind- it's still scaring me."

I frowned, putting a hand on his bare back. "It'll be all right, Glenn. I'll protect you." I grinned. "You even said yourself that if I hadn't woken you up you'd have died, right?" Actually, I thought he was only over-reacting, but if it would make him feel better, I couldn't argue with him.

"What if you DON'T wake up?"

"How can anyone sleep with their arms around another person who's thrashing about like a wild animal? Trust me, there's no WAY I'd be able to sleep if you started having nightmares again- believe me on that, okay?" I said. Glenn nodded dumbly. "Good. I've got a Dreamer's Scarf with me, and I'll stick some AquaBalls on my grid so I can have quick access to them. How's that sound?"

"Wonderful," he said, smiling at me. He breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against me. "I can't thank you enough, Leena. You're just being so understanding about all this." I reached over and took my hand, bringing it to his lap. I watched as he idly traced the lines on my palm and played with my fingers. "This just all seems so blissful. So unreal. I almost can't believe it, but I just KNOW it's real."

"I guess love is like that," I said. Glenn glanced up at me, moving his head to give me a kiss on the cheek. I giggled. He chuckled, dropping my hand to sit up and start playing with my hair. I sat still as he began to put tiny braids into my hair, humming a song to himself as he did so. I giggled a few times, enjoying this quality time.

". . . I think I better undo these braids before you get a hold of a mirror, Leena."

* * *

Because we were both a little concerned for his safety, Glenn and I once again found ourselves embracing each other as we lied down to go to sleep. My theory was that if he had another nightmare and started flailing his arms around, there's no way I'd be able to sleep through it. So he'd wake me up and I'd AquaBall him before it got bad. Even though, it was still nerve-wracking. Glenn looked tired, but he also looked very frightened. I shook my head, placing a finger to his lips. "It's all right, Glenn. If you start having a nightmare I'll wake up and then wake you up- I'm not going to let that man get you, all right?"  
Glenn nodded, pulling me closer. "Thank you," he said.

I traced over his scar with a delicate finger. "You'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

"Have you been talking to the fortune teller again?"

"She's a loon- she said I wouldn't have a boyfriend for a 'long time', yet here you are," I said. Glenn took on a look of utter confusion and I flicked his nose. "Cute. I know that some of her predictions came true but this one didn't, so I think a lot of it is about as truthful as some of Fargo's drunken stories about those sea monsters and how HE got rid of the ghost ship."

Glenn scoffed. "Yeah, sure. If I recall correctly Serge and I were the ones who X-Struck that thing to death. . . er. . . again. . ." he said. I giggled at his slight confusion. Ah, my poor Dragoon in shining armor. Glenn shook his head at me, rolling his eyes. I laughed again, sighing happily. "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Somehow that struck me as very funny and I started laughing again. "I'm sorry," I said.

"No, it's all right," he said, sighing. He gently kissed me. Then, with a nervous smile and a thumbs up, he gently closed his eyes. Sitting up slightly, I gently stroked his head. I could feel the tension leave him, his shoulders rolling slightly as he readjusted his position. Soon, he was breathing softly and peacefully, lost to the world in a (hopefully) dream free slumber.

After watching him for a few minutes, I decided I should have some sleep as well.

* * *

_"Hmm?"_

_ I looked around in confusion. No longer was I on Hermit's Hideaway. Now I was in a huge, elegant ballroom. Fully furnished, none the less. A sparkling chandelier hung above my head and hard, well-polished stone floors were underfoot. The walls were decorated with banners that proudly boasted the colors and symbols of the Porre nation._

_ I looked down at myself to see I was wearing a beautiful ball gown. Two tufts of pink material were gathered together and strapped across my shoulders. The bodice was cut to show off my non-existent chest, but it did make it well known that I had a small waistline, which was decorated with beads and tiny crystals. The skirt flowed out around me, every move I made exaggerated by it's large size. I felt around my neck and head to discover that my hair had been tied into a bun with twists of hair framing my face._

_"Lovely, my dear. Simply lovely."_

_ I nearly screamed as I felt someone behind me. I turned to see a middle-aged blonde man with a charming smile standing behind me. I blinked. Was that Norris? No, it couldn't be- Norris' eyes were a different color, and his cheek bones weren't quite that defined. But this man could almost be a dead ringer for the Porre commander. Especially in that uniform he was wearing._

_ The man lifted my chin to look over my face. "Interesting catch the boy's caught. At least if you like the girl-next-door look," he said. "But not bad by any means. You are, after all, still very much a child, so you do have some growing and developing yet. Seems as if the little brat has good taste in women."_

_ It was slowly registering who this man must be. "You're Curtis, aren't you? Or at least some sort of a delusion as to what my mind pictures you as. Glenn, Karsh, and Norris have all confirmed you're dead- Dario would as well if he were still in the living world," I said, backing away from him. "But you're just a figment of my imagination- if you ARE some sort of a ghost, then you'd be haunting Glenn instead, you bastard."_

_ Curtis nodded his head, looking impressed. "Smart girl. If that kid doesn't have the common sense to marry you then he should be very ashamed of himself. Of course, that's assuming he lives that long. Or if you, my dear lady, manage to live that long as well," he said, advancing in more closely on me._

_"What are you talking about?" I asked._

_ Curtis snickered as he backed me into a corner of the ballroom. "Oh, now I understand you were but a babe when Glenn and I had our encounter, but now that's he's expressed interest in you, I consider you very much involved in this now, even if it IS an indirect and coincidental connection."_

_ "This is crazy talk," I said. I shook my head, watching as the skirt shook with me. "You aren't real! Glenn's nightmares are starting to rub off on me now!" I looked up at the object of my sweetheart's fears and placed a hand on my hip. "I don't know just how real or unreal you are, but if you are, get the hell out of his head and leave him be!"_

_ The deceased Porre commander laughed, then wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me closer. I screamed, trying to get away. "No," he said. "You see, aside from Glenn's interest in you, you were able to pull him away from me and my grasp twice now- this time I'm going to catch him and kill him."_

_"No you won't!"_

_"Oh yes I will, and do you know why?"_

_"Shut up!"  
"You're going to be the bait."_


	12. Chapter Eleven

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Eleven

(Glenn)

Morning came.

Sunshine.

Birds chirping.

I pulled the covers over my head.

Despite the fact that I hadn't had any creepy nightmares and I KNEW I was awake, I felt pretty crappy. Nah, try worthless. I grumbled from my place on the floor, grabbing the unused pillow beside mine to cover my head with it. The darker it was, the happier I'd be. That way I could go back to sleep and not have to get up unless Leena decided to use her ever faithful AquaBall on me. _Nah, she'll see I'm peaceful and let me sleep. She only wakes me up if she thinks something is wrong._

_Something's wrong._

_You got that right- I need more sleep._

_No, no, something isn't right._

Not wanting to argue with the little voice in the back of my head, I sat up and looked around. I blinked at the empty space beside me. Hmm. Leena wasn't there. She must've gotten up already. Maybe she was making breakfast or something like that. Yes. That was it. She was up and doing something already. Now it was time to go back to sleep. I fell back down and started to drift off again.

_But if she's up cooking, wouldn't you hear or smell something?_

I sat up again, my eyes wide. Yes. I would have had some evidence she was up and about, wouldn't I? But there weren't any signs of activity going on. The only sound on the entire island was that of birds chirping, not a person cooking or doing some other activity. I stood up, a bad feeling beginning to form in my stomach. Leena, Leena, Leena, where oh where was Leena? I looked around the tree-house- no sign of her anywhere. I stepped outside and looked for her there- nope, not there either.

"Leena?" I asked. I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Lee-NA!"

No answer. I paled. Something was wrong.

VERY WRONG.

I descended down the ladder and started to look around for signs of her. I checked the campfire we had for cooking and warmth. It was too cold to have been used recently. Not a good sign. I bit my lip, beginning to fear the worst- whatever the worst WAS. We were the only ones on the island, and Leena wouldn't leave without waking me up first if someone did come. When I checked the food supplies, I saw that not a thing had been touched since the previous evening. I stopped for a few minutes, listening for the sound of rustling tree branches or leaves in case Leena had gone into the woods to, er, answer nature's call.

Nothing.

I started to pace back and fourth, my head and my heart racing. Something was wrong. Leena was gone. And I had no idea where she was, why she was gone, and when she planned on coming back. I didn't think that if someone came in the middle of the night she'd just leave me alone on the island, so where was she?

My eyes caught something attached to a tree.

Nervously, I walked over to the tree to examine the object. My eyes widened as I saw a note and Leena's headband hanging off of a long dagger stabbed into the ancient tree. I examined the headband, mentally confirming it WAS her headband. So why was it there of all places? I bent down to read over the note, a lump forming in the back of my throat. This couldn't be a good combination.

If you want to see the girl alive, go the place you and the girl went fishing by noon. Bring any weapons or armor you think you may need- you very well may need them.

-You already know

My blood froze.

Curtis had gone after Leena.

According to the sun, it was close to eleven. I still had over an hour to wait for noon. A whole hour to worry and pace back and fourth as I contemplated what had happened to Leena and if she was all right. I shook my head, stopping in my tracks. No! I refused to believe that something had happened to Leena! She was fine! Curtis was just using her as bait, that was all! He wouldn't hurt her?

Would he?

After I found the note, I had dressed in my full armor and started to dig through the limited selection of accessories on the island. Somehow, someone had been either generous or stupid and left both a Pendragon Sigil A AND a Dragoon's Glory, both of which I immediately equipped. There were also a few Dragoon Gauntlets, one of which I took as well. Then, after loading up my element grid with as many powerful elements as I could from as many colors as I could, I picked up the Einlanzers and headed off to the fishing spot.

I had been waiting there ever since.

The anxiety was killing me.

I was a nervous wreck. How could this be happening? How could this be real? Why? Why had he come back from the grave to haunt me? Well, that much was obvious, actually- he came back because he wanted revenge because I didn't want to die at five years old. The better question, really, was how. How could someone who died ten years ago haunt someone in their dreams?

"Well, he's a ghost," I said out loud. "And you know ghosts are real. You fought them on Fargo's ship. All those Wraiths and Crossbones weren't figments of your imagination- they were the real deal. So if a whole ship of ghosts can take over an entire pirate ship, it can't be that hard for one ghost to haunt someone's dreams, right? Right. Now quit talking to yourself already."

Time inched by very, very slowly. Every second was painful, and the minutes were horrendous to endure. Why couldn't noon just hurry up and get here already? I wanted to see Leena safe and sound! _Why did you have to stoop so low as to go after her? She had nothing to do with what happened fifteen years ago, damn it!_

_That's an obvious answer._

_She had NOTHING to do with it!_

_But she's got just about everything to do with YOU._

Well, duh. Curtis was playing on my nerves by kidnapping my girlfriend. Mind games yet again. He was playing a deadly version of the game, too. To make matters worse, I had no idea what his plans were for me and Leena. Oh, no doubt he probably wanted at the very least me dead by the end of it, but what about her? What about Leena, whose only crime was involving herself with me? Caring about me as a dear friend and now even more than that? Could he be mad at her for waking me up every time he tried to get at me through my dreams? _Actually, that makes sense- you might be dead right now if she hadn't used that AquaBall on you._

I sat down on a nearby boulder, my head in my hands. _This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so damned naïve and stupid as a kid then I would've never gotten in trouble and none of this would have happened,_ I thought to myself. _If I had only been smarter. If I'd only realized that what he was doing was suspicious._ I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks, and I buried my face in my hands as I started to cry.

I don't know how long I cried for, but by the time I had recomposed myself, the sun had almost reached the noontime position. The time was on me and within the next few minutes, I would learn what was going on. Maybe I could even put an end to my torment once and for all.

_Maybe I can. Maybe this could finally end, here and today._

Quarter of noon.

Even now the seconds and minutes were agonizing. I had stopped pacing, trying to conserve my strength- my Heals and Cures would only get me so far in the battle. And it wasn't like I had a lot of room for them, either- while I didn't have the smallest element grid in the party, it was still relatively small. Most of the others had seven or eight places for level one slots- I had five.

My aces in the hole were the two summons, a couple of Tornadoes, and a king's fortune of Carnivores that Serge had somehow gotten his hands on. He said it had something to do with an over-abundance of Carnivore traps and the Green Dragon using that element like his life depended on it. Unless becoming a ghost had changed his innate color to either white or black, Curtis would still be yellow, and hopefully, weak against my green elements. Even so, I had a few Turn elements as a back-up plan if things got ugly. Then I'd just need to try and set myself up to let Sonja or Genie out and have the two of them let him have it.

Ten minutes of noon.

I didn't have much to boost my somewhat poor magic skills, but my Dragoon's Glory certainly didn't hurt it. Besides, with the Pendragon Sigil I could make up for my magic skills at least a LITTLE bit if the Einlanzers were supercharged with whatever element he decided to attack me with.

I checked over my equipment once more. There wasn't any time to run back to get anything, now. I couldn't risk not getting back before noon and endangering Leena. _Well, this is it- everything is resting on your shoulders. If you fail, Leena could die and it would be all your fault._

"I won't let that happen," I breathed.

Five minutes to noon.

I ran over every single sword technique I had ever been taught in my entire life, making sure to take extra care to think over the tech skills that Dario had taught me. Dash and Gash, Sonic Sword, and Dive and Drive could make all the difference in the now very much imminent battle. Curtis wanted to fight.

Nah. Scratch that. He wanted to kill me.

The sun rose higher and higher into the sky with each passing minute. I could feel beads of sweat dripping down my brow from the anxiety as it reached its peak. The time was coming. After fifteen long years, I'd finally get a chance to face down the man who had haunted my nightmares and nearly ruined my life. I could finally put some closure on this.

One minute.

I heard a whirring sound behind me. Slowly, I turned around to see a very large shimmering light. I stared at it in awe, my jaw dropping a little. What was this magic? I instinctively put my hands on the hilts of the Einlanzers, narrowing my eyes as the light got brighter and brighter.

**_Glenn! GLENN!_**

****"Leena!" I cried. I growled, narrowing my eyes. "Curtis! Show yourself!"

**_No, I don't want to show myself. Not yet, at least._**

****"Where's Leena! What have you done with her?"

**_Oh, you mean your little friend? She's just fine-_**

**_GLENN! RUN AWAY!_**

****"Where is she?"  
**_No! I'm not worth it! Run away!_**

**_Glenn, Glenn, Glenn, I already told you- she's right here with me._**

****"But she isn't hurt?"

**_Of course not._**

I crossed my arms. "All right, I'm here. Now, let Leena go. It's me you want."

**_Of course it's you I want you little brat. You're the one who ruined me._**

****"Oh yeah, and my life has been a real picnic since you gave me this scar," I spat.

**_Glenn. Please. Run away. Don't put yourself in danger because of me!_**

"No! I won't let you get hurt, Leena!" I said. I growled. "Curtis! Let her go NOW!"

**_No._**

****"Look, I'll let you do whatever you want with me if you let her go. Please," I said, falling to my knees. "Take me instead. I won't fight back. I won't argue or try to escape or ANYTHING. All I ask is that you just let Leena go- she wasn't even walking when you kidnapped me. She has nothing to do with this. It's between you and me and you know it- so why are you getting her involved?"

**_I nearly killed you TWICE in your dreams, Glenn. Don't you remember that? TWICE. Not one, but TWO TIMES did I nearly kill you. Don't you see? She managed to get herself involved by waking you up and wrenching you out of my grasp. Oh I realize she was only worried about her precious Dragoon, but she is involved the way I see it._**

****I bit my lip. Unfortunately, I couldn't argue with him on that one.

**_Now, if you want her to survive, step into the light. I will explain what the rules of combat will be once you arrive in MY domain. And don't worry, I have Leena right here with me. And she'll be fine if you do as I say. Now come to me, boy. Come and face your doom!_**

****Wordlessly, I extended a hand towards the bright white light.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Twelve

(Leena)

"Glenn, you idiot," I mumbled under my breath. I shot Curtis a dirty look. He knew EXACTLY how I felt about him- I'd told him earlier while I struggled with him to break away, which, for me, had been futile. But of course he could care less. He was laughing at me, knowing that there wasn't anything I could do about what he was planning doing. This was his turf, I was his prisoner, and he had complete control over the situation. Which, of course, wasn't a good thing- Norris' father was a complete psychopath.

After getting into my dreams, he had somehow brought my whole body into some other realm, probably similar to the Bend of Time in that it was a cobblestone road set in a large nothingness, though this area just felt. . . evil. I was still wearing the same red dress, though my hair was now a bit of a mess compared to what it had been from me trying desperately to get away. Still, had he been alive, I think I would've left a few scratches on him. But of course I had some slightly more important things on my mind, such as Glenn's safety.

Curtis looked down to where I was sitting on the floor. "Any minute now, he'll be here in this realm with us, little girl," he said. He gave me a cold smile. "It's actually a pity you needed to involve yourself in this- you seem like such a nice girl. If it weren't necessary, I wouldn't have even considered bringing you into this mess, young lady."

"You kidnapped a five year old child! And for what? A stupid war? So your army could kill thousands of my people and the people of the now fallen Guardia? I'd say that qualifies as 'bastard' material in my book. But I just thought you'd like to know I think you're a complete bastard."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Curtis.

"It IS a bad thing because you're a shallow, low down dirty thick head!"

"Just how many insults do you KNOW?" Curtis snapped.

"Enough to annoy you for quite a LONG time," I said.

Curtis' eyes began to glow a deep red color. I stared at the eyes in fear. _Damn. That's scary. _"I would highly suggest you cease fire before something very unfortunate happens to you. Can't you see it's apparent that the boy cares more about your safety than his own. If something were to happen to you it would break his heart. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

I lowered my eyes. No, I wouldn't. But did he really care THAT much for me?

"Good," said Curtis. "Now be patient." His lips curled into a grin. I looked up at the madman with a questioning look on my face. Curtis didn't seem to notice my look, but he did look oddly happy about something. In my shoes, that couldn't have been a very good thing. With a delighted chuckle, he announced what was making him look so pleased with himself. "Ah, here he is now."

SNAP!

POP!

Glenn had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "Glenn, no! Run away!"

"Leena!" he cried reaching out for me. Curtis held me back and extended a hand, sending some sort of an energy attack at Glenn. I screamed as he flew backwards, crashing into the lamppost with a cry of surprise. Rubbing the back of his head, Glenn looked up and growled. "Curtis! Let her go!"

Curtis clicked his tongue and twitched his finger. "Uh, uh, uh- no fight, no girl."

I growled in response. Rolling his eyes, the deceased Porre commander snapped his fingers and I was placed in a large birdcage above the area. I shook the bars. "Hey! Let me out of here you bastard!" Curtis looked up at me and laughed. Glenn looked up at me helplessly as if I was a cookie jar placed on a high shelf and he was a small child trying to reach it.

"Now that we can get down to business, let's," said Curtis. Once again he made a snap with his fingers, and a handsome sword dropped into his waiting hand. "Here are the rules- standard battle rules apply for the mechanics and anything and everything you have will apply. All elements including Turns, Anti, and Fields are allowed. The girl will be sent home whether or not you win or loose- I have no qualms with her despite the rash tongue she has." Curtis pointed the sword at Glenn. "But be careful, boy- I'm quite good in combat."

"Well, so am I!" he said. Glenn drew the Einlanzers and clashed them together in a warning move. "All right. Let's go." With a mighty cry, the noble knight charged his adversary. With a mighty clang, the three swords met, the two fighters nose to nose as they exchanged warning growls and applied as much pressure as they could on the other fighter, trying to startle the other into an open position.

CRASH!

The two separated, seeing that the technique they used was worthless. So, instead, the two reverted to a stare down, taking steps that took them in several circles. The mood was tense with an eerie quiet as all went still for several tense minutes. I looked on in worry, hoping that Glenn would be able to pull through and bring us back to Hermit's Hideaway.

Curtis was the first to make a move. He paused, holding his sword out before him as a circle of yellow light began to glow around his feet. Glenn switched to the defense, preparing to lessen whatever blow was about to come his way. With a cry of triumph, Curtis raised his sword into the air to perform the attack. "AntiGreen!"

"Glenn! No!" I cried. I watched as Glenn was sent backwards and a green bubble of energy appeared over his head. "Damn you, you bastard! Damn you!" I cursed. "That wasn't fair your numb-skull dork-head! You low-down dirty scoundrel of a worm-breath fungus butt!"

"Leena! That was a fair move! He said Anti spells were allowed and yelling isn't going to do us any good!" said Glenn. He took a moment and smiled at me, winking. "Don't worry, I'm not done yet- you didn't think I'd go into a battle of this size without a back-up plan, did you?"

I bit my lip. "Be careful!" I said.

Glenn made the next move, preparing his own element. "TurnRed!" he said, shooting the Turn element at his adversary. With much success, Curtis began to glow a bright red color, then went back to his normal appearance. He growled, taking a slash at Glenn. My sweetheart yelped and leapt out of the way, but could not dodge the next two hits, earning him shallow gashes on his right arm and left leg. Still, he carried on, and before Curtis could make another attack, Glenn started to cast another element. "TurnBlue!" he said, casting the element on himself. I watched as he glowed a light blue in color, then reverted back to normal.

Curtis was catching on to his plan. "You stocked up on Blue elements in case I used an AntiGreen, didn't you, you little twit?" said the ghost. Glenn grinned cockily, letting Curtis know that was exactly what he had planned. "Not a very bright move, Glenn. Now I'll prove it. MAGMABURST!"

I screamed as I watched Glenn become engulfed in a huge pillar of magma, and in return I could hear his screams. _Glenn's Turn strategy is working against him! Please, please have some Cure spells in stock- if you've got nothing but Heals, you're in trouble!_ I thought to myself. The fire ended, and I saw Glenn was looking a little worse for wear. He was favoring his left arm, and I could see that his clothing was slightly charred in places. Still, he looked pretty determined.

Glenn cast another element. "TurnBlue!" he yelled, smashing another Turn element on his adversary. This took Curtis a bit by surprise and he looked at Glenn in suspicion, trying to decipher what he was up to. Even I had to admit I was wondering what was going on- Glenn had yet to assault Curtis was anything but Turn elements and a few physical assaults.

"Glenn, what the hell are you doing?" I asked. "Attack him already!"

"I'm working on it, Leena," he said through gritted teeth and as fended off a physical strike from Curtis. He jumped back, keeping his swords in a somewhat defensive position as the ghost continued to strike out at him. Glenn never once took his eyes off the ghost. "I think I know what I'm doing!"

_Nice. He THINKS he knows what he's doing._

Glenn saw an opening and attacked Curtis. THAT when was I saw his strategy. As he lashed out at Curtis, the Einlanzers were, oddly enough, glowing red. At first I couldn't figure out why (Glenn's Turn elements had made them both temporarily Blue), but THEN it began to peace together. "Pendragon Sigil!" I exclaimed. "Yes! Beat him up, Glenn, beat him up!"

With Red charged swords and a Blue adversary, Glenn was pretty much going to town on Curtis. With the swords now charged to his disadvantage, Curtis was beginning to show signs of fading as well. He had a busted lip, his hair was a bit disheveled, his clothing was torn in several places, and I'm pretty sure he was limping on his left leg. I whooped out in excitement, cheering Glenn on.

Curtis wasn't done yet, though. He started to cast another element, this one black. "HELLBOUND!"

"Oh no! Glenn!" I screamed as I watched Curtis attempt to remove Glenn's soul from his body. I bit my bottom lip as I watched the element take it's course and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I saw the attempt had failed to destroy him in a single move. Curtis swore, growling dangerously.

But something was wrong.

Glenn held his swords at the ready, but looked nervous about something. I watched as he charged straight ahead of him, thrashing at the air infront of him. Curtis was several feet away and laughing hysterically. Glenn turned towards where his adversary was a slashed out with the Einlanzers in an "x" formation, hitting the ghoul with a decent hit.

Still, the fact that the HellBound has given Glenn a bad case of Darkness was pretty bad. He couldn't see what he was doing! "Glenn! No!" I cried out. _He's a goner! Serge wouldn't leave any BlackOuts on the island and we didn't have any all-purpose consumable elements or even a Purify when I was sick with the flu! He's fumbling around in the dark! He's going to get himself killed._

"Leena! I, I can't see!" Glenn said, waving the swords around blindly, Curtis was laughing hysterically, though always just out of Glenn's reach. Even worse, the Darkness was preventing him from blocking most of the attacks and I watched helplessly as he reverted into a defensive position, taking a beating from Curtis.

During the brutal assault, I watch as Glenn stumbled away from the attacks, his tunic now a mass of shredded material under his armor, red gashes marking where he'd been injured by his adversary. Blood was dripping down his forehead from some head injury, part of his pale blonde hair matted with the red life fluid. One of his arms wasn't moving and looked like it might've been broken. I put my fingers to my lips, worried about him.

Glenn prepared to cast an element. "CurePlus!" he said, straining to say the name of the curative element. A bright blue ball of water enveloped him and some of his wounds healed, though not many. That was enough to give me an even better insight as to just how bad he was doing. He reverted back to a defensive position, waiting for the effect of the HellBound element to wear off.

Which put him in line for a more brutal beating from Curtis.

Eventually, however, he straightened himself and began to attack Curtis in an almost animalistic fashion. This took the Porre commander by surprise as Glenn began to slash at him mercilessly, ready to go in for the kill at any moment. _All of the anger and suffering he's been bottling up inside for the past fifteen years is all being let out right now. That's what's given him this boost of power and confidence! _"Go Glenn!" I cried. "You can do it!"

Glenn backed away from Curtis, the two huffing and puffing at each other from the tiredness they had acquired during the fight. The deceased Porre commander was holding his blade out in front of him, and I was unsure as to what his plans were. My Dragoon in shining armor was holding the Einlanzers in an "x" formation, eyeing the man who had caused him years of internal torment with an intent to destroy.

Slowly, Glenn took his element casting position. "INFERNO!" he cried. A huge explosion of fiery energy emitted from the element as it proceeded to wreak havoc on Curtis. I watched in triumph as he screamed, several burns appearing on his body as the flames engulfed him in the high powered element. Curtis fell to his knees, and for a second I thought that Glenn had won.

But it was FAR from over.

Glenn gasped in shock as Curtis began to stand again. "CurePlus!" he screamed, healing himself. The deceased man began to laugh, holding the sword in front of him with an insane look in his eyes. He ran at Glenn, slashing at him swipe for swipe. The knight winced in pain, not finding the opportunity to revert to a defensive position. Curtis backed off from Glenn, leaving him weak and almost on the verge of the end.

"Glenn, get up! Heal yourself!" I cried out.

Slowly and a bit clumsily, he got back to his feet. Leaning on one of the legendary swords, he cast a second CurePlus before turning back to the madman. . . er. . . mad-ghost in question. "You. . ." he said. "You. . . are. . . one. . . sick. . . bastard!" Glenn was panting, the CurePlus not healing him to the degree he needed to be healed. "You deserved to be demoted, even I hadn't escaped you. Even your own son could see that there was something wrong with you."

"TURNGREEN!" Curtis cried, shooting the element at Glenn. Glenn was taken aback by the sudden element and it's use, confused. The Porre Commander then cast a TurnYellow on himself. He grinned, starting to laugh in a sort of crazed way. I stared at Curtis in horror, knowing that it was about to get bad.

Glenn prepared another element, this time, a Green one. "Tornado!" he called out. I screamed, gripping the bars of my cage as the wind storm began to rattle my perch. I could hear Curtis screaming, obviously not liking the attack Glenn had suddenly let loose on him. Once the wind stopped, I looked back down to see that Curtis was still standing. "Glenn! Finish him off already!"

The noble knight who had won my heart looked up at me and nodded. "This battle is over, Curtis," he said, beginning to advance on the deceased Porre commander, the Einlanzers at his side. Even in his injured state, Glenn still held an air of defiance and dignity about him that I couldn't help but admire. With confidence and grace, he raised the sword high above his head, ready to move in for the kill.

SWISH!

Glenn screamed, clutching his side with a pained look on his face. Curtis began to chuckle to himself, shaking his head in what looked like some sick form of amusement. Dark blue eyes gazed at Glenn darkly. "You know, boy, you are right. This battle IS over, but I don't think it's going to end the way you planned it." In what felt like slow motion, Curtis began to cast one final element. "ThundaStorm!"

I cried out in fear as the world around me became a place of nothing but blinding lightning and electricity. Glenn screamed in agony, his body beginning to glow in a bright white hue as the attack struck him, mercilessly sapping away at his life energy. The attack died, and he turned his head once to look at me, a smile on his face.

"Don't. . . worry. . . Leena. . ." Then, he slumped over.

Dead.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Thirteen

(Glenn)

I cried out in pain and anguish as Curtis sliced deep into my side. I fell to my knees, trying to stop the pain from the severe injury I'd just taken from my adversary. The man who had tormented me for fifteen years laughed, gazing at me in a sick form of amusement. "You know, boy, you are right. This battle IS over, but I don't think it's going to end the way you planned it." In what felt like slow motion, Curtis began to cast one final element. "ThundaStorm!"

_NO!_ I thought to myself in horror. I didn't have the strength to stand up to an element that powerful in my current state. I was going to die, right before Leena's eyes! _It wasn't supposed to be like this! I was supposed to rescue her! We were supposed to go back to Hermit's Hideaway together to wait for Serge and the others to find us! This can't be happening!_

_Do not worry. . . I would not let that happen. . ._

I paused, unsure of where the voice in my head had come from.

The thundercloud above head was generating electricity. Electricity that was about to descend on me. _How ironic. . ._ I thought to myself. _The first element used on me was a Yellow element of the electric class and the last element that will be used on me is from the same class, cast by the same man. How very ironic indeed. . ._

_This isn't like last time- Dario is dead and Karsh can't possibly show up here now. Not even Norris is going to help me,_ I thought to myself miserably. _Then I guess this is the end, isn't it? I'm going to die right here and now in this other world. There might not even be a body left._

_Yes there will be!_

The ThundaStorm began it's strike.

"Oh, sh-"

* * *

"You do not need to swear- you are safe." 

I blinked, looking around. Instead of finding myself facing certain doom, I was floating in a vast nothingness. I panicked, not seeing anything beneath me or above me. I cried out, flapping about aimlessly as I tried to gain some sort of a foothold on something solid. But I found nothing. "Where am I?" Then, it dawned on me. "Ah! I'm dead!"

"No, you are not dead."

"Who's saying that?" I asked. "Show yourself! Who are you?"

"I am surprised you do not know. I am you."

I froze, then somehow managed to spin around. I gaped. There, floating before me, was, well, me. The same blonde hair and blue eyes I saw every morning in the mirror. The same armor plates and Dragoon equipment I had used before joining with Serge. The same tunic, the same pants, the same boots, and the same hair ribbons. "But, but how is that possible?"

The other me shook his head. "You already know where I came from."

I thought about this and nearly fainted. I knew EXACTLY who he was. "You, you are me from Serge's world!" I said in shock. My double only managed a weak smile. "The, the one who died in the, the Sea of Eden three years ago! You're just, just as much of a ghost as Curtis is!"

"You are correct," he said. "Ever since you came to this world with Serge for the first time, I have been watching you. Curious as to what I could have become, I suppose. To see where I might have gone in life. And, to be honest, I am not at all disappointed in what I saw- it was certainly better than death." His eyes darkened as he seemed to sigh. "It is a shame that we could not meet each other while we were both in the world of the living." He looked upwards, a sort of youthful sparkle in his eyes. I blinked, cocking my head to one side- I could see where he looked a little bit younger than me, but I've always looked younger than I actually am.

"Well. . . why are you here now?" I asked. I closed one eye and raised the opposite eyebrow in question. My counterpart gave me another childish smile, chuckling lightly as he watched me in interest. I shook my head. "Never mind that last question, because I have a better question. How about telling me WHERE are we? Then tell me why you brought us here. Or someone else brought us here."

"We are in a spirit world that does not exist. And, I am saving your life," said the other me.

I blinked. "What?"

"What would have happened to you if you had stayed where you were just a few moments ago?" he said. I looked down, thinking about where I had just come from- not much energy left, a psychopath ready to cast a powerful element on me, and my young girlfriend watching in terror. "You would've been killed."

"So you're keeping me here? Forever?" I asked.

The other me laughed. "No! Not at all!" he said, shaking his head. He cleared his throat and folded his arms. "You aren't strong enough to face down something like Curtis, especially not alone. If Leena had been fighting alongside of you then you might have had a chance, but he knew that he would have no trouble beating you in if he fought you alone at this point in time."

I lowered my head. "I'm too weak, is that what you're saying?"

"Right now, yes, you are too weak. But I'm giving you a second chance. Believe me- he'll try this again sometime in the future. When, I do not know, but he will try it again- that specter hates you and his hatred for you has allowed him to take these powers. That is where he gets all of his power- its pure hatred."

"Then. . . with all that power he has. . . he must REALLY hate me. . ."

"Of course- he blames you, or me, or, well, one of us, for his downfall," said my double. He stood. "Which is exactly WHY we are going to stall for time so you can train and get more powerful. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to start practicing using your elements with more care and skill- study magic."

"Magic? But I'm a Dragoon- I spend most of my days training with my sword!"

"Yet even as your sword skill improves, has your magic skill not improved at least a little?" he said as he raised an eyebrow. "Marcy. She can fight well and use elements well, can she not? Talk with her- I am sure she will be willing to give you advice and help you advance those skills."

I sighed. "But I still don't understand how we're going to stall for time."

The other me shook his head. "Do not worry- I know exactly what to do."

"What?"

"It is not important what happens to me- what IS important is that you train and take him down for both of us," he said. He grinned. "Besides, I think Leena would be upset if you did not continue to show affections for her. She is very fond of you, and I know that you are very fond of her."

"Are you?" I asked.

My double shrugged. "Even if I was attracted to her, it would not matter," he said. "I am a ghost- this soul will never age past seventeen. Never complete his training as a Dragoon. Never, ever, ever even court a lady, much less marry one. After the General of my world led us to the Sea of Eden, our lives ended."

I lowered my eyes. "You're right," I said. "I, I usually tried not to think about it, but now that it's right here in my face I. . ." The other me shook his head. "It was just so strange to know that the, well, me, er, you, in Serge's world was dead- I never thought of myself that way before and it's a bit unsettling."

"I do not blame you for those words and they do not hurt me," he said. "Just promise me this, Glenn- take him down. For me. For both of our fathers. For your Dario, and for yourself." He straightened, giving me a nod. "Before I leave you, I just thought I should share something with you."

I blinked. "What? Do you mean. . . that. . . that Dario. . . is. . . alive?"

My younger self nodded. "My brother, the Dario of this world. . . his essence is not in the spirit world," he said. I gaped at him in shock and amazement. "I am absolutely sure that he is still apart of the living world in this reality. Find him. Not for me, for yourself. And Riddel, as well. You miss your own brother, do you not? Even if he is not the brother that you know, he is still Dario."

I shook my head in disbelief. "All right. I'll trust you that you know what you're ding, but I know that I need to see a psychiatrist as soon as this whole mess is over- between alternate realities and vengeful ghosts, I'm going to need a nice, long vacation far away from El Nido."

The other me nodded, chuckling. "Perhaps you will bring Leena with you?"

I gave my counterpart a joking look of disapproval. "No. Vows of chastity, girls whose tech skills rely on virginity and romantic vacations usually don't mix very well," I said. "Her mother would kill me, Viper would skin my carcass, and I just know that something else would rip my hide limb for limb."

The other my blinked. "My. . . you are not acting so polite and formal."

I scratched me head. "Um, well, Leena said that she wanted me to speak more casually so I-"

"You had better have the common sense to marry her someday," he said. I gaped in surprise as he smiled. "All right. I'm going to arrange it so that as Leena is sent back to the island, you'll be sent with her. Hopefully it will take a while for Curtis to rediscover you, but until then you must keep training. His one weakness is that you must go to him on your own, but he can use hostages to get you there. It could be Leena again, it could even be children if you become a parent by then. But he can and almost certainly will play this game again, and you won't get this second chance next time- use it wisely. Train hard. Talk with everyone you can talk with to get better, because you will need all the luck and help you can get your hands on. And I mean it."

"There's still one thing I don't understand- what are you doing in this?"

The other me stared blankly ahead. "I will take your place."

"What? NO!"

Then. . . nothing.

* * *

"Glenn! Glenn! GLENN! SPEAK TO ME! SPEAK TO ME! GLENN!" 

_Leena. . ._

I groaned, slowly fluttering my eyes open. The first thing I saw was Leena, though she looked like she was upside-down. Eventually I realized she had my head and upper body in her lap, cradling what she had thought was my dead body. When she saw me waking up she went ballistic, tears streaming from her eyes in crystalline rivulets of joy. "Glenn! Glenn, oh Glenn, are you okay? Oh, Glenn, I thought you were dead and that you'd left me alone and that I'd never see you again and-"

I smiled. "It's all right, Leena. I think I'll be okay," I said weakly.

"What happened? I saw you die! I was so scared! You slumped over and said not to worry and you were dead and Curtis was laughing and I was crying and- oh Glenn!" Leena pulled me closer to her, sobbing hysterically into my shoulder. Carefully, I put an arm over her shoulder and closed my heads, trying to gain my own strength from her. I closed my eyes in an attempt to relax.

"It's a long story," I said. Leena hugged me tighter and I cried out in pain. Leena pulled away and looked me over. I was definitely alive, she could see that, but I was not in what I'd call perfect health. Most of the injuries from my battle with Curtis were still on my body and they hurt pretty badly. "Ow. . ." I said as I began wincing in pain. "Everything hurts."

"Can you stand?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Why?"

"You need to get back to the tree house and rest up once I use a few Cures on you," she said. She placed a soft hand on my cheek, giving me a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you're all right. I don't know WHY you're all right, but it doesn't matter- as long as you're all right I could care less."

I bit my bottom lip. "The ghost of. . . me. . . from this world. . . took my place," I said. Leena looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm not sure how myself, but he brought me to this place that he said didn't exist, had a conversation with me, and took my place, right before the element would have hit. He, he sacrificed himself to save me! I mean he was already dead but his ghost existed but now there's nothing!"

Leena blinked in confusion, but nodded. "After everything's that happened, I'll believe it- I'm not sure what you just said, but I'll believe it, anyways," she said softly, running her fingers through my hair. She bent down to kiss me. I grinned, letting her know that I was going to be just fine without words. "I'm so glad you're all right! Oh, you don't know how scared I was!"

"I heard you screaming before the other me switched places with me," I said.

Leena shook her head. "Mmm hmm. Now, let's get you patched up. . ."

* * *

"Comfy?" she asked.

I nodded. Leena had given me her cot and, after hitting me with every CureAll, CurePlus, and Cure she had on her, prepared to play nursemaid. Because of the condition of my tunic (which wasn't very good), she'd given me a large mustard yellow smock she'd found and most of the pillows on the island, nearly smothering me in them in an effort to make me comfortable. She knelt down and touched my forehead, a happy yet concerned look in her eyes. "Feel better?"

"A little," I said, nodding. "Better than I felt, anyways."

"That's good," she said. She hugged me tightly, sniffling a little into my shoulder. I half-smiled, glad that she was concerned for me. Leena looked into my eyes and brushed some of my hair out of my face in a loving, gentle way that seemed to make everything "all better" all in one simple action. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right."

"So am I," I said, returning the gesture. I kissed her, lifting a hand to the side of her face. "I wouldn't go down that easily, Leena. I promise you that." I held her hand, looking into her eyes. "I'd be a fool to let a girl like you go." Leena's eyes began to tear yet again as she held me tighter.

"Oh Glenn. . ."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Fourteen

(Leena)

The week following Glenn's near death was, thankfully, peaceful. Within a day he was up and about again, though not quite working at full power. He spent a lot of time resting, but he also went out on walks and took a few dips in the swimming hole. Of course, I wouldn't let him do any kind of work for a while, so it was partially my doing, I guess. Still, he needed the rest.

And now we had been on the damn island for two and half weeks.

"Yup- we'll be here a while," I said.

"You've said that a few times now," Glenn commented. It was almost sunset, and the two of us were on the balcony outside of the tree house. My knight in shining armor was leaning on the railing, looking out at nothing in particular with an almost whimsical look in his eyes. "At this point it could be a month or two."

I whimpered. "I don't wanna be here for a month!"

Glenn gave me a hurt look. "Am I that bad to be around?"

I shook my head, laughing slightly. "No, no, no, you know EXACTLY how I feel about you, Glenn. But if I don't get off this stupid island soon then you'll have a lunatic on your hands. A stark raving mad woman on the loose who's going to start swimming for the nearest island."

"Hmm. You'd do it, too."

"Hey!"

Glenn chuckled. "You're too easy."

I shook my fist at him. "Oh I'LL show YOU who's TOO EASY around here!"

"Hey! You have to be nice to me- I almost died!"

I whimpered. "Jerk. That was a cheap shot!"

"Cheap, but true."

"You. . . you. . . stinky-stinky-poo-poo-head!"

". . . excuse me?"

I fumed, clenching my fists at my sides and standing on my toes. Then, I started to laugh. Glenn stared at me like I'd just grown a second head, and almost looked like he was frightened. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Glenn. I've been mean to you and you really didn't do anything." I gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

Glenn slowly nodded. "No big deal."

"No big deal?"

Glenn shrugged. "You were joking. It's okay."

"Um, no. You almost DIED, as you so nicely put it earlier. I DO have to be nice to you."

"No you don't," said Glenn. "I was just kidding around about that-"

"Still. . . you don't know how scary that was," I said, on the verge of tears. "To see the other Glenn just drop and me thinking it was you. . . it frightened me. I didn't want to be alone on this island. And, and what about Serge, huh? What if he did come back to question me and I had to tell him that you were killed by a ghost?" I sniffled. "I know I'm a strong girl but I don't want to be by myself all the time."

Glenn frowned, putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his embrace. He quietly hushed me, rubbing my back. "It's okay, Leena- I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he said. I closed my eyes, salty tears squeezing out of the corners of my eyes. He held me tighter, showing just how strong he really was. "One day I'm going to take Curtis on and I'm going to win. One day. . ."

"I won't be on the sidelines if that day comes, my sweet," I said.

Glenn smiled, lifting my chin. "I know."

"I hope we have enough time to prepare."

"We will. . ."

* * *

The next day was spent lounging in the tree house. It was inhumanly hot outside and somehow the only thing close to a building on the whole island seemed much cooler. Glenn had taken off his shirt, having slung it over his shoulder to use as a sweat towel, and was sorting through the accessories on the island while I looked through the element supplies.

"Bor-ing," I announced, dropping the pile of Tablets in my hand onto the floor. Glenn looked up at me as I yawned. "This is stupid. There's nothing to do on this stupid island- when's someone going to get the bright idea to come check on me and see you're alive anyways?"

"Be patient, Leena- they know they can't leave you here forever. Someone in the other Arni is bound to get worried about you some time and then Serge will swap you for someone else, see I'm here, and wring all seven of the little traitors necks once he finds them," said Glenn. He put down the Dragoon Gauntlet he'd been playing with and took a more pensive pose. "Speaking of which, what do you suppose they're doing right now? It's been an awfully long time- why hasn't anyone spotted them yet?"

* * *

I shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe no one notices."

"Thow I the money! Theventy-theven on red!"

"Hey! I won that fawe and squawe- GIVE IT!"

"Starky liiikes gaaambling!"

"Leah win! Leah win!"

"I like the rrroulette wheel!"

"Ha! I haveth won many a coin!"

"This is phun!"

* * *

"I don't know, a crowd like that?" said Glenn. "How could you miss a pink dog with two tails, a walking plant, a walking turnip, a baby dragon, a cave girl, an alien, and, um, whatever Pip is, walking around somewhere? What are they DOING anyways?" He groaned. "It better not be something illegal, or else we'll BOTH be held accountable."

"Point."

"I mean, they were in our care when they ran off like they did- what if WE get the blame?"

I paused. "I didn't think of that."

Glenn gulped. "You know, maybe a few more months on the island isn't such a bad idea after all," he said. "I mean, we could really get to know each other on a more personal but non intimate basis, I could get better at fishing, maybe I could teach you how to use a sword if you'd like. . . we can come up with more things to do, right?"

I looked up. "Swords?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. Glenn stood up. "Would you like to try?"

"Um. . ."

* * *

"EN GARDE!" I cried, bashing mercilessly at Glenn with the wooden sword he'd given me. I was winning, but mostly because he was too busy laughing at my horrible form and technique. "I STINK AT THIS AND I'M PROUD OF IT! I LOVE YOU! I CAN'T USE A SWORD BUT I STILL LOVE YOU!"

By now he was rolling on the ground as I incessantly poked him. His face was bright red and tears were pouring down his cheeks. I looked at him and smiled. I had NEVER seen him look that happy and carefree before than I did there. He just looked like any other guy his age, just goofing off and having fun on a nice sunny day.

I grinned. Ever since he and his counterpart from the world we were in had tricked Curtis, I hadn't seen Glenn happier. For one, he didn't have the added stress of the horrible nightmares he'd been forced to endure for a whole fifteen years. Now that they were, at least, for the time being, gone, he was like a free spirit. A heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders and he felt wonderful about it. Gone was the uptight, unsure Dragoon private that I had met so many months before. Here was bright, cheerful young man who had confidence in himself for who he was.

It doesn't seem like he'd get a boost of self-confidence after what had happened to him if you think about it quickly. He had, after all, lost miserably to Curtis. But he'd been able to hold out longer than the ghoul had expected and probably gave him a bit of a start. Plus, now that he knew he had a second chance, I knew Glenn would take him down in their next meeting. He'd have to work at it, but he would do it.

I knew he could.

Glenn sat up, still laughing. As he tried to compose himself, I dropped to the ground beside him and dropped the sword at my side. He cleared his throat and tried to look at me seriously. "Now Leena, when you hold the sword and you use the sword you aren't supposed to POKE the person."

"I know. That's because I stink."

"Well. . . you're still a beginner."

I nodded. "Beginner."

It was about then that we heard the most glorious sound in the whole world.

"HEY! GET YER LAZY ASSES OUT OF THAT BOAT!"

Glenn was on his feet. "That was Karsh!"

"Karsh?"

"Karsh!"

And soon, the said purple haired Deva stepped off of the path and into the main part of the island.

"KARSH!"  
"KARSH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh Karsh, Karsh, Karsh, you're my hero for today!"

"What took you guys so long?"

"Oh, you don't know how happy we are to see you!"

"Do you have a boat?"

"Are you here to take us back home?"  
"QUIET!" With that order, Glenn and I backed off of Karsh, who we had brought to the ground in an excited hug. After spitting some hair out of his mouth, the ax-welding Deva looked at Glenn in surprise. "Glenn? What the hell are you doing here? Do you have ANY idea how worried Junior is about you, and you've been HERE the whole time?"

Glenn and I exchanged looks. He volunteered me to speak. "Well. . . he would've left two and a half weeks ago, but the little ones took off with the boat and left us here- there wasn't any other way off the island so we've been here waiting to be rescued ever since," I said.

Karsh looked at the two of us in shock. "You're kidding, right?"

Glenn shook his head. "Starky took the keys off of Leena while she was on her way to tell me my shift was over and they got to and started the boat before we could get to the beach to stop them," he said. He shrugged. "But no harm done. It's not like we starved or anything."

"So. . . you two are saying that you have no idea where the little ones are?"  
"Nope."

"Not a clue."

". . . just great."

I stood up, brushing off my skirt. "Well. . . it could be worse."

Glenn nodded grimly. "Yeah, it could have been."

"How?"

"Long story."

Karsh folded his arms. "I have all the time in the world."

"It involves a vengeful ghost who can visit people in their dreams?" I offered.

The Deva narrowed his eyes. "I was sent on a ghost hunting mission. I saw two Norrises in the same place at the same time. I met Lynx, but it was actually Serge in Lynx's body. I've fought with dragons alongside Serge who was STILL in Lynx's body AND saw him walk into Fort Dragonia in one body and leave it in another body. I also met my da from this world. Now you tell me that a story about a vengeful ghost is beyond my comprehension?"

I looked at Glenn. "He does have a point, there."

"Karsh! Did you find out anything?"

Karsh looked behind him. "And here comes Norris now." He cupped his hands over his mouth and began to yell. "Glenn's right here! The little ones marooned him and Leena here almost three weeks ago and they've been stuck here ever since! They also said something about a vengeful ghost!"

"Ah, that's a relief," said the much more likable Porre commander than Glenn and I had met in out lifetimes. He smiled. "We were all very worried about you, you know. We thought that you'd drowned or worse- maybe captured by pirates or wandering around with amnesia somewhere."

"Amnesia?"

"Um. . . Razzly has an over-active imagination, let's put it that way," said Karsh.

I shook my head. "Who's with you? Serge?"

"Actually, Serge is in the other world trying to get everyone who doesn't have a level seven tech skill equipped with one," said Norris. He rolled his eyes. "Trust me on this one, Glenn- it isn't fun having tech skills that aren't learned naturally." I nodded in agreement and Norris gave me a thumbs up. I giggled.

"So if Serge isn't with you, then who is?" asked Glenn.

Just then, a figure emerged from the underbrush, looking around feverishly. It was a man around Karsh and Norris' age in a silvery armor that clinked as he moved and a green cape that flowed around his armor like an emerald ocean of cloth. He had short blonde hair that was a bit deeper in color than Glenn's hair and bright blue eyes that almost matched Irenes' tail fin. When he spotted our small group, those crystal blue eyes began to tear. "Glenn! Oh, Glenn, it is really you!"

Glenn looked at the man in disbelief, his eyes widening in shock. His bottom lip began to quiver as a relieved and overall very happy smile washed over his face. My eyes widened as I realized that there was only one person that could possibly bring Glenn that kind of joy. I turned to Karsh in question, and he just gave me a smug grin as Glenn confirmed my suspicion. "Dario?"

"GLENN!"

"DARIO!"

And the two brothers embraced each other warmly, sobbing tears of joy as they let the moment fully settle in. I felt my own body begin to tremble, the scene more beautiful than words can possibly say. This must have been the Dario of Serge's world- something deep down inside told me so. I clasped my hands together, bringing them to my chest as I watched the emotional scene. _Dario and Glenn had to outwit death and a whole dimensional boundary to see each other again. This is just so beautiful. . ._ I wiped a tear away from my eye, sniffling to myself.

"Somehow, seeing the two of them together makes me think that everything is going to be all right," Karsh said slowly. "Even if we all are from different worlds, we're all one whole unit again now that we've found Dario. It just wasn't the same without him in the manor with the rest of us, and now, thanks to this, it's like a piece of all of us that had been snatched away has been restored to its rightful place."

Norris bit his bottom lip. "How poetic," he mused. With a simple smile on his face, the kind-heartened Porre commander turned to the two brothers. "Come on now, you two. We should get going back to our rightful places and let Serge and the others know that Glenn is all right."

The brothers nodded, exchanging warm smiles before turning on their heels to head back to the boat.


	16. Epilogue

Marooned

By Dixxy

Epilogue

Two years later. . .

(Karsh)

"Ha-ha! Dario, you dog!" I said loudly as I slapped my best friend on the back. Dario grinned back at me, a knowing look in his eyes. I sat down beside him, laughing to myself as I let the information sink in. "Congratulations, my friend. So, tell me- when did you find out the happy news?"

Dario cleared his throat. "It was just a few hours ago. You know that Riddel has not been feeling very well as of late, and when she went to see Doc to find out what was causing her sickness, he told her the excellent news," he said plainly. He sighed happily. "This is the happiest day of my life."

I raised an eyebrow. "What about your wedding?"

"That, too, but. . . oh Karsh, you have no idea how wonderful this feeling is!" Dario exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart. "In less than a year there will be a tiny person in this world who carries mine and Riddel's blood. Do you know how excited the two of us are over the prospect of this child?"  
"I can only imagine, my friend," I said. "But I wish you both and your little one the best," I said. I winked. "I got an idea, Dario- how's about I take you out for a few drinks tonight in celebration? After all, once that baby's here you aren't going to have a lot of time to yourself."

Dario snorted. "Yes, I remember what my parents went through when Glenn was born. Screaming and crying and peeing. . . oh, those were the days, were they not?" he said. He laughed. "Time passes so quickly. Sometimes it feels as if it were only yesterday I spent most of my time brooding over all the attention he was getting. I hated him, you know. Father did not spend any time with me for the longest time after that, too busy taking care of Glenn to worry about me. Mother, too."

"But it all worked out in the end- Glenn practically worshipped the ground you walked on, Dario. Remember? As a kid he'd take that silly little wooden sword of his and pretend he was YOU. Not his father, not Radius, and not even the General- YOU. And chances are your kid will be EXACTLY like your brother in that aspect- that kid is going to adore you to pieces and he's going to be out there beating that wooden dummy, telling everyone he's YOU. And then I'll take the liberty to embarrass Glenn by reminding him he did the exact same thing as a kid," I pointed out with a slight chuckle. "But first you need to change smelly diapers and stay up all night putting the kid you just put to sleep back to sleep."

Dario grimaced. "But it will all be worth it."

"Ain't it the truth."

Dario sighed happily, resting his chin in his hand as he propped his elbow on the table. A dreamy look hung in his eyes as he pondered over something. Minutes passed before the heavy silence finally broke. "And to think that this event might have not happened if it weren't for the events with Serge."

"Yes," I said. "And I would have never met my dear, sweet Orlha."

"I was always under the impression that she was sweet on Doc," said Dario, looking confused.

"She was, but he's a bit more career oriented. He's involved with his nurse," I said. "But I have no arguments, because now I have Orlha and he doesn't! So there! Ha!" I leaned back into my chair. "Things can't get any better than this. I'm telling you, Dario, meeting Junior was the best thing that ever happened to any of us."

"After all this time you still insist apon calling him Junior? Why?" asked Dario.

"The name stuck," I said. I laughed. "I can't get over it. Norris is on our side now as the Acacia Dragoons official firearms expert, right? And Fargo is in charge of our very much improved navy, eh? And that means Marcy gets to spend more time with her father and her brother and her aunt, and every day she seems to be getting closer to them." I sat up. "And then you can't forget about Radius- he may not fight anymore, but he's one of the best strategic minds on our side. And I think it's only a matter of time before Guile takes that dumb mask off."

"Are you sure? Glenn seems to think that will happen the day Zoah takes his helmet off," said Dario. He shook his head, patting his Einlanzer, which hung at his side in its scabbard. "I am proud of him. I did not think I would ever weld an Einlanzer again, but yet, Glenn let me keep one without any outside suggestions."

"Eh, Leena might've bugged him into it," I said. "You know how those two are."

"Yes. It would be a shame for him to let a girl like her slip through his fingers," said Dario.

"Looking for some cousins for your kid, I see?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dario gave me a shocked look. "No! Not at all! I was just saying that she seems to have only been a good thing for him. Karsh, you saw him grow up- he was very much a lonesome young man. Always so serious and focused on nothing but practicing with his silly little wooden sword, afraid of what others thought of him. He did not have very many friends growing up. I was always worried about him, yet ever since he met Leena, he has been improving. I had not seen him laugh like that since before that bastard Curtis kidnapped him when he was a child. You must know what I mean by that."

I nodded. "Yeah, it was a strange sound, but a pleasant one," I said. As I said those words, we heard the door to my room open and in waltzed the subject of our very important conversation. I chuckled, shaking my head at the ironic entrance. Glenn raised an eyebrow in confusion, silently asking for an explanation. "Well, well, well, speak of the devil! We were just talking about you, Glenn!"

Glenn nodded as he sat down at the table, a dreamy look in his eyes as he laid his head on his hands. He looked at Dario with a kind, almost childish smile. "I saw Riddel in the hallway and she told me the good news, Dario. Congratulations- I'm sure you're going to be a great father."

Dario couldn't help but beam. "Thank you, Brother."

"Why the happy-go-lucky look on your face, Glenn? This isn't the 'My sister-in-law is pregnant and I'm going to be an uncle' type look- this is different. What's on your mind?" I asked with a mischievous grin. My younger friend shied away into his chair, his cheeks bright red. I chuckled- I hadn't gotten him to blush like that in YEARS and suddenly the idea of a beet red Glenn was all-too-tempting. "C'mon, shrimpy! Dario is your older brother and I'm kind of like an older brother to you, aren't I? We grew up together! Tell us what happened- c'mon, I need something good and juicy."

Glenn shrugged. "No, that's all right. Let Dario brag about his child-to-be."

"Nonsense," said Dario. "You have got that look in your eye that tells me that you know something that I do no know, and in this case it is not a bad thing such as that frog you decided would make a good pet when you were eight." I snickered at the mention of the event- I'd never heard Dario scream like a girl before that day. Luckily for me, Dario was too interested in Glenn to notice what I had done. "Talk. Let us share our joy."

"No- you two were obviously talking about the baby and I intruded."

"Glenn? Unless you want Leena to find out about Arthur, you'd better talk," I threatened.

Glenn's eyes widened at the mention of the pile of stuffing and fake fur that had once been a teddy bear. He stood up, gasping at me in shock. "Karsh! You wouldn't DARE tell Leena about Arthur!" he said. He laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Um, you wouldn't, right?" This time he didn't sound quite so confident.

"Wanna try me?" I said.

"Karsh, stop it," said Dario. He turned to his younger brother. "Please, Glenn- talk to us."

Glenn sighed happily as he sat back down. "All right. I'm getting married."

Dario and I had the exact same reaction- we got to our feet and said, "You're WHAT?"

Glenn sat up. "Well, I took Leena to this nice overlook I know about. We brought a picnic lunch and had a nice long conversation about nothing in particular. Then, just as the sun was starting to set, I took her in my arms and told her I loved her. She said she loved me, too, and I bent down on one knee, produced an engagement ring, and asked her the big question," he said. "Leena broke down and cried right there. At first I thought I'd upset her, but then she just kept saying 'yes' over and over again and the two of us just stayed there, crying tears of joy for several hours. I just now brought her back home a few hours ago."

I laughed, standing up and slapping my hand on Glenn's back. He lurched forward, the wind nearly knocked out of his. "Well, well, well, this is a fine day for all of us! Er, well, at least you two. Dario and Riddel are having a baby, Glenn is going to be getting married, and all is right in the world." I looked at Glenn, shaking my head. "To think it seems like only yesterday you were following Dario and I around Termina like a whiny brat of a shadow, and now you're all grown up." My eyes watering, I quickly put Glenn in a bear hug and started bawling my eyes out. "WAHHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ALL GROWN UP ALREADY! WAHHHHH!"

"Karsh, get a hold of yourself!" Dario said, trying to pry me off of his younger brother. Glenn was helping in the effort, but that's to my melodramatic action, the three of us soon found ourselves in a pile of tangled limbs on the floor, all of us bickering and squirming to get out. Screaming, yelling, and kicking then proceeded to fill the next several minutes.

By the time we were all out of the pile, we were a bit of a mess. I, for one, found my hair a tangled mess, some of it in my mouth (I naturally spat it out). Dario's bright green cape had been pulled off his shoulders and parts of his armor had fallen off. Glenn, having been at the very center of the pile, was in the worst condition. His mother's hair ribbons hung loosely around his next, his elbow shield was no where to be seen, and he was missing a boot. As the three of us looked each other and ourselves over, we all burst out laughing at how ridiculous the bunch of us looked.

As the three of us were lying on the floor, guffawing to the point of a near loss of breath, I smiled, and not just because of the ridiculous place we found ourselves in. It reminded me of something very important- Dario and Glenn are the best friends I'll ever have. Dario and I have been friends since before I can remember and once his brother was born and old enough to play with the "big boys", the three of us were more like brothers than friends- even me. And even as the three of us had matured into adults, it was good to see that the three of us could still act like children and not care one way or the other, even with Dario an expectant father and Glenn engaged to marry. Nothing could ever change the bond between the three of us.

I was the first to regain my composure. "Heh. . . it's a good thing to know that even as we all grow up and enter new stages in our lives, there's still a part in each of us that's youthful and childlike, ya know?" I said. Glenn and Dario each nodded, the older of the two still chuckling. I grinned. "C'mon, Glenn- I'm brining Dario out for a drink. Let's go."

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "Wha?"

"You think for one darn second you're going to go and get yourself engaged and I'm NOT going to bring you drinking then you, young man, must be out of your mind. Dario? What do you say to that? Should we bring the lad out for a few drinks before the night gets too old? Or should we find Leena and have a nice, long conversation about a certain teddy bear?"

It was obvious what the youngest in our group of three was going to decide on. "Drinking! Drinking! I'll go drinking!" Glenn said, darting past the two of us to get to the door. Dario shot me a harsh look and I stared back at him innocently. "What? I was just having a little fun with him?"

"No, no, no, Karsh, it was not that," said Dario.

"Then what was it?"

"Remember when we were twenty? Our SPECIAL plan for him if he ever got engaged?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Shall we?"


End file.
